Even if it was the same price, it's better in every other metric. It's cheaper because you can prefab parts that are otherwise not prefabbable due to the high

Even if it was the same price, it's better in every other metric. It's cheaper because you can prefab parts that are otherwise not prefabbable due to the high weight of trains, and that require less maintenance due to not being exposed to the elements. The entire german train system is build on crushed stone. With mechanically tensioned electrical lines that are in constant abrasive contact with the train. The main cost here is not the crushed stone, but the workforce required to set everything up. Having the thing run as a highline with integrated contactless propulsion made from robotically mass produced segments, would be a lot cheaper, and a lot easier to maintain. In theory you could even build the tune in a factory and just push it out, with each pylon containing a small pusher system. That way you can just produce it at the station and only need a groundgrew for the pylons and for alignment. If you cover it with PV it'll even be energy net positive. The price we save on CO2 and climate change alone would be worth it. 50% of ICE electrcity is still coal and will be for the coming decades. (Datteln 4)