I certainly agree that asthetics should come after function here, particularly because we need to try to slow environmental degradation. On the subject of roads and rail being ugly, I think it may be a degree of normalisation - if you looked at the general opinion of rail and road at the time of invention, you might well find the same reservation about their asthetics as for wind turbines. (see https://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/ind_rev/rs/denaul... and also probably for windmills).

More recently the opposition to HS2 in the UK has produced many arguments about asthetics, mainly due to route location.

TBH I'd prefer to see smartrail systems rather than a rehash of an existing transportation system. Something like: http://openprtspecs.blogspot.com/2016/