Could such a system, on a more grand scale, replace railroads as conveyors of passengers and freight? The vision is not new-fangled, and a modern day visionary

Could such a system, on a more grand scale, replace railroads as conveyors of passengers and freight? The vision is not new-fangled, and a modern day visionary insists it could be a better alternative to high speed passenger rail. The interesting thing is that the incumbent railroads are actually in a prime position to capitalize on this tech. The hard part about implementing the system isn't really the technology, it's all of the property, right-of-way, and NIMBY issues that come up. However the railroads already own property all over the country and (for the most part) they can do what they want with it. Everyone might be better off working together than trying to approach it separately. edit: beaten by rayiner