It would be next to impossible to get 4.5MW from the line to the motor using a third rail or something.

Most modern electric locos and EMUs are 6 MW and up on European 15 or 25 kV AC systems. 8-9 MW is very typical for higher end locos and the BR412 EMU in its longest configuration (for an example of the maximum I can think of) can pull 11.55 MW temporarily, and all of that is from one pantograph. Doing cargo with electric locos is only impossible in NA because… well, because you can’t, because there is no elecrification. Every single corner to has been cut to save every imaginable cost. It’s not like you could try and see what’s better, you literally only have old-school diesel tech.

If you read the article, you would see that

if you believe the entirely baseless claim in that article, …

There you go.