Looks like the MIT bunch is approaching it as a research project. Oh well.

Another maglev market that's been promoted recently is a shuttle connecting the docks with UP's intermodal yard in LA. Essentially a continuous line of platforms operating at low speed that can accept boxes directly from the boat and take them over to the yard (and vice versa). Concept is a Disneyland theme ride for containers. Maglev and LIM make sense, not for speed but for eliminating wheels and such that need maintenance. Eliminates the battery-powered tractors used now for some near-dock work, so I'm not sure there would be a lot of emission reduction, but it would take some trucks off the street. More practical idea than Mark's old schemes. Perhaps if BNSF had come up with it they might have had more success with their near-dock yard, but I doubt it.