In order to achieve the very low transport cost needed, the Water Train vehicles must carry considerably greater weight than passenger and freight vehicles. The weight of a loaded Water Train vehicle is on the order of 200 tons, as compared to 40 to 50 tons for the vehicles that carry Intercity Passengers and Intercity Trucks. To handle such large weights at low cost, the guideway is modified from the M-2000 Guideway used for passenger and freight transport. For the M-2000 Water Train System, the narrow beam guideway is located on-grade rather than elevated on piers. This greatly reduces structure cost. In addition, iron plates are positioned along the upper edges of the guideway beam. The magnetic interaction between the vehicle magnets and the guideway iron plates levitates the vehicle, effectively making it weightless. The passive aluminum loops in the guideway stabilize the vehicle laterally and vertically. In particular, the vertically unstable lift force from the iron lift plates is overcome by the aluminum guideway loops, providing net vertical stability. Any displacement of the vehicle from its equilibrium suspension point is automatically countered by a magnetic restoring force that pushes it back to the equilibrium point.

After delivering its load of water, the water balloon on the vehicle is collapsed, which greatly reduces cross sectional area. This in turn greatly reduces the air drag on the vehicle on its return to pick up the next load of water for transport.