The Wuppertaler Schwebebahn (English: Wuppertal Suspension Railway) is a suspension railway in Wuppertal, Germany. The line was originally called the German: Einschienige Hängebahn System Eugen Langen (English: Eugen Langen Monorail Overhead Conveyor System) named for its inventor, Eugen Langen. It is the oldest electric elevated railway with hanging cars in the world and is a unique system in Germany.
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/wuppertal-schwebebahn-suspension-railway-germany/index.html
I wonder if there is a benefit to this. Like can they run a train on top also?
No, the scaffolding the train is hanging from is not able to support a train on top. There's narrow footways on top of it for maintenance but nothing particularly suited for any transport.
Wuppertal is a city stretched along a very narrow and long valley with a small river running along the center. The valley is very tightly populated, the roads along the valley are few and very congested. Faced with tough traffic problems they built this suspension train over the length of the river hovering high above ground level and therefore avoiding all traffic.
Clever solution.
I'd imagine the ride would be smoother since they really only need to level between each support, not the entirety of the rails if they'd been laid on the ground.
Yes, it is really smooth. As you get on at the station the car tends to swing from side to side just a little bit. This reminds you that it’s suspended from the top, not sitting on rails. More cities should have these!
It's also just cool and fun. I imagine a decent number of us train nerds end up visiting Wuppertal because we heard about the upside down train.