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Contents February 2013 Volume 53 issue 2


News 2 This month


4 News 10 Transit news


Middle East & North Africa 18 Jordan: A hub for the Middle East? Developing links to Iraq and Saudi Arabia


23 Iran focuses on international links Investment is transforming the national network


26 Light rail premieres in Casablanca New line is the first part of ambitious network plan


Rapid transit 30 Taming Stockholm’s “wasp’s waist” City Line project reaches halfway point


34 Traction choices: overhead vs third rail The merits of selecting ac or dc on new metro lines


37 CBTC extends its reach Industry debates issues at Amsterdam event


Track 41 Taking the stress out of track Is customised maintenance the answer?


Contact us


Editorial Offices Post


Tel Fax


46 Killigrew Street, Falmouth Cornwall TR11 3PP, UK +44 1326 313945 +44 1326 211576


Web www.railjournal.com


Editor-in-Chief David Briginshaw db@railjournal.co.uk Associate Editor Keith Barrow Features Editor Kevin Smith Senior Designer Fiona Browning


Production Assistant Sue Morant sm@railjournal.co.uk


kb@railjournal.co.uk ks@railjournal.co.uk fb@railjournal.co.uk


Advertising Sales Offices Post


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Suite N2 The Priory, Syresham Gardens Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 3LB, UK +44 1444 416368 Fax


Advertisement Manager Donna Edwards BA (Hons) Tel +44 1444 416368 de@railjournal.co.uk


International Area Sales Manager Steve Barnes Tel +44 1444 416375 sb@railjournal.co.uk


International Area Sales Manager Louise Cooper Tel +44 1444 416917 lc@railjournal.co.uk


International Railway Journal (Print ISSN 2161-7376, Digital ISSN 2161-7368), is published monthly by Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corp, 55 Broad Street, 26th Fl, New York, NY 10014-2580, USA. Printed in Great Britain by Buxton Press and distributed in the USA by Mail Right International, 1637 Stelton Road B4, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA. Periodicals postage paid at Piscataway, NJ and additional mailing offices. COPYRIGHT © Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation 2013. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced without permission. For reprint information please contact Editor-in-Chief. For subscriptions & address changes, please call +1 402 346-4740, Fax +1 402 346-3670, Email circulation@sbpub.com or write to: International Railway Journal, Simmons- Boardman Publishing Corp, PO Box 10, Omaha, NE 68101-0010, USA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to International Railway Journal, PO Box 10, Omaha, NE 68101-0010, USA.


IRJ February 2013 1 +44 1444 458185


Also in this issue 45 Rendezvous


47 Full contact list 47 Advertisers index 48 The last word


Front cover A phosphate train on Jordan’s 1050mm-


gauge Aqaba Railway which will be incorporated into the country’s planned national standard gauge network. Photo: Richard Gennis


East to west Finding alternatives to the Trans-Siberian in Central Asia


Royal opening


Casablanca’s first light rail line inaugurated


IRJ International Railway Journal


Digging deep Inside Stockholm’s huge City Line project


February 2013 I Volume 53 Issue 2 www.railjournal.com


page 30


14 Financial news 16 News analysis


Bridging the gaps


Developing links in the Middle East

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