New Trams for Philadelphia | São Paulo Metro Extension | Škoda Trams in mainz | Urban News 66

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Welcome to Urban News #66. In this episode –
00:00 – Intro
00:14 – Tram extension in Mainz, Germany
01:27 – State of Victoria to Provide Free Public Transport for All Children
02:35 – Alstom trams for Philadelphia, USA
03:43 – Finland plans to change it’s rail network gauge
05:01 – Finland using data Centers to heat homes
06:51 – Stockholm Arlanda Express fleet ordered
07:42 – London Euston station oversite redevelopment
08:33 – São Paulo metro line 2 extension in Brazil

#cityforall #urbannews #publictransport #railway #metro #tram #trolleybus

Sources:

Škoda delivers 22 trams to Mainz

https://www.railway.supply/en/victoria-to-provide-free-public-transport-for-all-children/

https://www.railway.supply/en/philadelphia-advances-with-modern-streetcar-initiative/

Finland announces migration of its rail network to international gauge

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-05-14/finland-s-data-centers-are-heating-cities-too
https://www.helsinkitimes.fi/world-int/world-news/finland-in-the-world-press/26920-data-centers-heating-homes-prepper-nation-of-the-nordics-and-u-s-remake-of-100-litres-of-gold-finland-in-the-world-press.html

https://www.railwaypro.com/wp/stadler-to-deliver-high-capacity-flirt-trains-for-arlanda-express/

https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/crown-estate-takes-50-stake-in-euston-station-oversite-redevelopment-81268/

https://www.railwaypro.com/wp/wb-approves-usd-250-million-for-sao-paulo-line-2-extension/

what’s up guys i guess it’s time for your weekly dose of urban news hit that to my awesome Patreon supporters and everyone else who keeps this [Music] going the German City of Mines has decided to purchase 22 new trams from the Czech company for over €100 million these new lowfloor trams will be about 43 and a half meters long and have five double doors for easy boarding each tram can carry 258 passengers which is about 100 passengers more than the current models it is to replace and the city is also working on the development of its tram network from June 2024 a new tram connection between Allison plots and Müster plots is being built in the city this approximately 300 m stretch should relieve the congested mines central station and reduce travel times the new track is expected to be operational by the end of 2025 a new trimm route is also planned to connect the historic city center with the Neistata district the proposed route will run from Schiller plots via Ludikas and Blu a decision that was finalized a few weeks ago construction is scheduled to begin in 2029 [Music] from January 2026 the Australian state of Victoria will introduce free public transport for all children under 18 years to reduce cost of living pressures for families across the state eligible young people will receive a special card giving them unlimited access to trains trams buses and regional coaches across Victoria the card remains valid until the child turns 18 replacing the annual $755 student pass transport Minister Gabriel Williams said the plan delivers real cost savings making life easier for working parents and also she emphasized that lowering transportation costs and reducing the need to drive will reduce daily stress in addition young people will have better access to part-time jobs sports and social activities the free public transport initiative is expected to cost $318 million over four years despite the investment the government insist that the benefits outweigh the costs as it will promote equality and support working families [Music] meanwhile Alam and SEPTA are finalizing the design phase of 130 citad for Philadelphia which are being prepared for production at the plant in Hornell New York and this is an important milestone in the broader capital renewal of Philadelphia’s transportation system by the way the newest Philadelphia street cars look like this so this will be really remarkable improvement the project started in May 2023 and has already finalized most of its supplier agreements elston plans to start production in 2026 following the completion of the third and final design review in the fall of 2025 as a federally funded project SEPTA must meet by American requirements which means that more than 70% of the components must be produced in the country and only a few parts are sourced from international suppliers so has already developed a localalized supply chain established a project office in Philadelphia and partnered with US companies to ensure compliance the Finnish government has announced conversion of its railway network from the Russian gauge to European standard to strengthen the country’s integration into the European Union and NATO the changes presented by transport minister Luluran at the Nordic ministerial meeting in Helsinki are a response to the need to improve military mobility and regional security especially in lights of Finland’s NATO membership and growing tensions with Russia the project which will begin in the north of the country near Olu aims to remove technical obstacles to transportation of troops and cargo between Finland Sweden and Norway the government is expected to make a final decision by July 2027 with construction beginning around 2032 the European Union is expected to cover up to 50% of the planning costs and 30% of the construction costs this transition which cost billions of euros affects over 9,200 km of tricks and take decades to complete symbolizes a geopolitical and strategic shift for Finland which will fully join the European infrastructure with this [Music] decision the next story is also about Finland and although it is not exactly a new story it is definitely worth mentioning in the city of Mansula there is a 75 megawatt data center that provides heat to about 2 and a half thousand homes by the way until 2022 this data center looked like this and as far as I understand it still belongs to the Russians just under a different brand so the country is planning to change the railway gauge because of the risk of Russian aggression and at the same time Russian data center is working smoothly i wonder if government services also use it but anyway this approach pioneered by Finnish engineer Ari Kurvi has evolved over the years from small projects to large infrastructure partnerships in essence they decided not just to release the heat generated by data centers into the atmosphere but to use it to heat homes which is goddamn smart the most ambitious project so far is a huge data center campus that Microsoft is building near Helsinki in Espo and Kirkanumi once commissioned this cluster is expected to provide 40% of Espo’s heating needs for about 100,000 homes this initiative has already led to the closure of a coal fired power plant and is expected to significantly reduce the city’s carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 the Scandinavian region’s natural advantages cold climate large amount of renewable energy sources and widely developed district heating infrastructure make it ideal for such innovations electricity prices are also quite low making the region attractive to technology companies [Music] meanwhile Studler has signed a contract with Swedish rail operator Arland Express to supply seven new Flur trains the new fleet will run between Orlando airport and Stockholm Central Station from the end of 2029 offering over 50% more seats than the current trains the €373 million contract also includes a 15 years of maintenance by the way this line is currently operating LEM X3 trains which although they look pretty good will soon be 30 years old as they were built in 1999 the new 165 m long trains will accommodate 323 seated passengers and accelerate to 200 km per hour [Music] the British government has acquired a 50% stake in the future redevelopment of Houston HS2 station meanwhile the future of Houston station is still unclear and although the government has approved the cost of the tunnels from Aldo Common to Houston how and when the station will be built is still uncertain in addition to the redevelopment of Houston station which includes about 60 acres of land planned for offices in 2,000 new homes the joint venture also includes several other projects across London and one project in Birmingham by the way maybe that’s a wrong impression but for some reason news from the UK often sounds to me like something great is coming but nothing is clear so let’s continue to observe [Music] the World Bank approved a $250 million US loan for the Sa Paulo Metro line to extension project so line two also known as a green line will be extended by 8 km and eight stations from Villa Prodenti Station to the Pena neighborhood located northeast of the city center and will include the construction of a maintenance depot this extension will make line 2 the longest in the network with a total length of 23 km it will also reduce travel time for residents of the eastern zone and help redistribute passenger traffic across the network once completed the green line will be able to carry about 1.2 million passengers daily significantly improving mobility in the eastern zone of Sao Paulo in general S paulo Metro Network has been operating since 1974 and now consists of six lines with a total length of 104 km and that’s all the news for this time by the way if anyone is interested I add links to the sources in the video description so thanks for watching and see you in the next videos the proposed route will run from Schiller plots we are and finally a decision a decision that was made that was finalized a few weeks ago