[verandaguy_alt]

That's actually reassuring, I'm glad they looked into this.

My follow-up concern is, what if, under these salty and wet conditions, something causes a short circuit between the powered rails?

e.g., either a defective vehicle-side contact where the anode and cathode allow for the water and salt to close a much smaller gap, or if someone deliberately sticks a piece of metal on there.

[jacquesm]

You'll get a small steam explosion but there are lots of ways for the pressure to escape, and if the circuitry protecting the 50 meter stretch is fast enough that might not even happen.