Contracts for rails, switches and sleepers were signed on Friday 20 April as part of the West Metro extension project. VR Track and Parma were chosen as suppliers, on the basis of a competitive bid.

The project organisers, Länsimetro Oy and VR Track, signed an agreement on rails and railroad switches. The rail agreement relates to 58,000 metres of rail. The contract is valued at around 3.7 million euros. VR Track will also supply railroad switches (points). There will be 35 different types, plus seven crossings. This contract is worth about three million euros. Delivery will take place in 2013-2014.

Parma has been chosen to supply the railway sleepers. The West Metro extension will consist of two underground tunnels stretching for 13.9 kilometres in either direction, and Parma will supply 50,000 concrete sleepers. The contract value is around 3.5 million euros. The sleepers will be delivered in the period 2013-2014. Their design and manufacture is to start right away at a precast concrete plant.

"The West Metro construction project is progressing according to schedule," says Matti Kokkinen, CEO of Länsimetro. "We've been busy this year with procurement. Now we've ordered the rails, switches and sleepers, and the mounting and installation work will start next year."

The tunnelling will be completed in 2013. Work starts on the stations in mid-2012. After that, the rails will be laid and the control system will be installed and tested. The entire project is due to be completed at the end of 2015.

Further information from:
Matti Kokkinen, CEO, Länsimetro, tel. 050 347 1558

Länsimetro Oy is jointly owned by the cities of Espoo and Helsinki. Its purpose is to construct the western extension of the metro system, from Ruoholahti to Matinkylä. The company was set up in 2007. Its offices are in Tapiola, Espoo.

The Helsinki City Rescue Department and Länsi-Uusimaa Department for Rescue Services are to conduct a rescue exercise a the excavation site at Suomenlahdentie 7, Matinkylä (Espoo) on Thursday 25 April, between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. The imagined scenario is an accident in which staff will practise putting out a fire in a tunnel.

This exercise is the eighth of its kind to be organised at a West Metro worksite. Those taking part are Strabag Sverige AB, the Swedish excavation contractor at Matinkylä, and the rescue departments of the City of Helsinki and of Länsi-Uusimaa. The exercise will last around three hours in all.

The exercise will not cause any interruption to traffic on Suomenlahdentie. Traffic will be directed locally, as necessary.
The public are requested to avoid the area of the exercise, if possible.

Further information on the exercise:
Clas Tallberg, Rescue Manager, Länsi-Uusimaa Department for Rescue Services, tel. (09) 8168 4294
Satu Linkola, Communications Manager, West Metro, tel. 046 877 3392

The Helsinki City Rescue Department and the Länsi-Uusimaa Department for Rescue Services will organise a rescue exercise at the West Metro worksite at Keilaniemi (Miestentie 11) on Thursday 29 March from 13.00 to 16.00. The scenario for the exercise is that a boulder has fallen on two people working in the tunnel and two other people are also injured. The purpose of the rescue exercise is to train for rescue operations in the underground tunnel and to test co-operation between the rescue services, Länsimetro and the contractor.

This exercise is the seventh of its kind to be organised at a West Metro worksite. The participants will include YIT Rakennus, which is the contractor at Keilaniemi, and the rescue departments of the City of Helsinki and of Länsi-Uusimaa. The total duration of the exercise will be around three hours.

The exercise will not cause interruption to traffic on Miestentie. Traffic will be directed locally as necessary.
The public are requested to avoid the area of the exercise site as far as possible.

Further information on the exercise:
Clas Tallberg, Rescue Manager, Länsi-Uusimaa Department for Rescue Services, tel. (09) 8168 4294
Satu Linkola, Communications Manager, West Metro, tel. 046 877 3392

The excavation work on the West Metro is progressing at a rate of more than 1 km per month. The West Metro will be 28 km long and will run entirely underground; more than 10 km, or 35%, of this has already been excavated: 71% of the tunnelling on the Helsinki side and 23% on the Espoo side has been completed.

"We are now working on the tunnels over the entire length of the route, and the project is on schedule. We have almost completed the tunnels under the sea at Lauttasaarensalmi, with less than 20 m to go to reach the opposite shore," says Matti Kokkinen, CEO of West Metro.

The tunnel excavations will be ready in 2013. The first station contracts will be launched in the current year. Once the stations are built, the track will be laid, and then the guidance system will be installed and tested. The West Metro will be fully completed at the end of 2015.

More information
Länsimetro, CEO Matti Kokkinen, tel. 050 347 1558, matti.kokkinen(at)lansimetro.fi

For the second time, the West Metro ‘Safest Metro Worksite' competition was won by METRO, the consortium formed by Destia from Finland and Metrostav a.s. from the Czech Republic. During the period of review, from July to December 2011, not a single accident occurred at the METRO consortium worksite. The competition is organised semi-annually, and all current West Metro projects are participants.

"We are really pleased with winning this for the second time. This says that we are doing things right and focusing on what is essential," said Vaclav Pavlovsky from Metrostav a.s. as he received the prize.
The current excavation projects of the West Metro were evaluated in the Safest Metro Worksite competition on the basis of accident frequency and civil engineering measurements (MVR).1 The accident frequency for each project was weighted by 60% in the evaluation and MVR measurements by 40%.

In the West Metro context, accident frequency calculation includes both accidents occurring to persons working at a worksite and injuries occurring to third parties through worksite activities. There were no accidents at all at the winning worksite during the competition period. The METRO consortium representative was presented with the West Metro ‘Safest Metro Worksite' trophy, a gilded piece of rail.

Fourth competition period ongoing
The Safest Metro Worksite competition runs for six months at a time. The fourth competition is currently under way and will end on 30 June 2012. The first competition was won by the METRO consortium and the second by YIT Rakennus Oy.

"The purpose of the competition is to highlight the principles of safe and careful construction. During the current competition period, which extends to the end of June, we will be reversing the weighting percentages: MVR measurement measurements will be weighted by 60% and the accident frequency for each project by 40%. The purpose of this is to highlight the importance of preventive measures. MVR indicators are supportive of safe working practices and orderly workplace management," says Matti Kokkinen, CEO of West Metro.

The competition jury includes Marjo Vuola from the Uusimaa Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment; occupational health and safety engineer Jukka Hietavirta from the South Finland Regional State Administrative Agency; CEO Matti Kokkinen, communications manager Satu Linkola and interaction engineer Reijo Jokela from West Metro; and the overall safety coordinators Ulla Valtonen (planning), Aku Kallio (construction preparation and procurement) and Jorma Teelahti (construction) from Sweco Oy.

Almost 10 km of rail tunnels and more than 4 km of access tunnels have already been excavated for the West Metro. The tunnelling is proceeding at a rate of more than 1 km per month.

¹ MVR, known by its Finnish acronym, is an observation-based method for civil engineering measurements to ensure an acceptable level of safety at an earth and water construction worksite. Information is collected on weekly observation rounds about neatness and order at worksites, storage facilities and traffic arrangements, to ensure that protective coverings and exclusion zones are sufficient and in acceptable condition.

More information:
Länsimetro Oy, CEO Matti Kokkinen, tel. 050 347 1558

Construction work on the West Metro is advancing in Lauttasaari. Work on the entrances of the future metro station will cause changes to the traffic arrangements on Gyldenintie and Otavantie. Underground services have already been diverted at the relevant locations.

On 11 January, Gyldenintie will be blocked at the site of the future station (Gyldenintie 2) and will no longer be a thoroughfare between Lauttasaarentie and Tallbergin puistotie. The properties along the street will remain accessible, however. Buses will use Särkiniementie instead. The footpath along Gyldenintie will remain open, being rerouted around the work site.

Otavantie will also be blocked between in week 2 of 2012 at the intersection of Otavantie and Kauppaneuvoksentie and will no longer be a thoroughfare between Lauttasaarentie and Tallbergin puistotie. The properties along the street will remain accessible, however. It will also still be possible to turn from Otavantie into Kauppaneuvoksentie towards Gyldenintie. The footpaths along the street will remain open, being rerouted around the work site.

The work sites will be fenced, first temporarily and then with the West Metro orange work site fence. Some parking spaces will be eliminated on both Gyldenintie and Otavantie because of the work site arrangements.

This situation will continue until late 2013.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Map showing the new route on Helsingin seudun liikenne web page
Further information:
Contractor: Kalliorakennus-Yhtiöt Oy, Work Foreman Meeri Pöllänen, tel. 050 341 1980, meeri.pollanen(at)kalliorakennus.com

Länsimetro, CEO Matti Kokkinen, tel. 050 347 1558, matti.kokkinen(at)lansimetro.fi

Earthwork in connection with the west metro has begun in Niittykumpu. The excavation of the access tunnel, station, two shafts and two parallel metro tunnels of 1.5 km in length will start on 14 November. The contract is being undertaken by YIT Rakennus Oy.

Excavation work will begin with the inspection of nearby buildings and the excavation of the access tunnel entrance. During the autumn and winter the excavation will proceed towards the metro station and the actual metro tunnels. The entrance to the access tunnel will be located in the south-eastern corner of Merituulentie and Haukilahdenkatu. Excavation for the metro station will take place between Haukilahdenkatu and Niittykatu, south of Merituulentie.

Temporary traffic lights will be installed on Haukilahdenkatu at the entrance of the access tunnel. Dump trucks will use the temporary junction to access Länsiväylä and Jätkäsaari.

The work in Niittykumpu will be carried out within the limits imposed by environmental authorities. Tunnel blasting may be performed from Monday to Saturday between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. and open excavation between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. Other work relating to excavation and the removal of blast rock will take place round the clock. Transport to and from the site will avoid rush hour traffic where possible.

According to the preliminary estimate, excavation work for the Niittykumpu contract will be complete at the end of 2013. The progress of the excavation work can be followed using the monitoring service available on our website.

More information
Länsimetro, CEO Matti Kokkinen, tel. +358 50 347 1558, matti.kokkinen(at)lansimetro.fi

The Helsinki City Rescue Department and the Länsi-Uusimaa Department for Rescue Services will organise a rescue exercise on the west metro worksite in Otaniemi at the address Tekniikantie 15. The exercise will take place on Thursday, 10 November from noon to 3 p.m.

The purpose of the rescue exercise will be to train for rescue operations in the underground tunnel and to test the cooperation of the rescue departments, Länsimetro and the contractor. The exercise is the fourth of its kind to be organised at a west metro worksite. The previous exercises were organised at west metro worksites in Ruoholahti, Lauttasaari and Koivusaari.

The participants will include SRV Rakennus Oy, which is the contractor in Otaniemi, and the rescue departments of Helsinki city and Länsi-Uusimaa. The total duration of the exercise will be around three hours.
The exercise will not cause interruption to traffic on Tekniikantie. Traffic will be directed locally as necessary.
The public are requested to avoid the area of the exercise site where possible.

Further information on the exercise
Rescue Manager Clas Tallberg, Länsi-Uusimaa Department for Rescue Services, tel. +358 9 8168 4294
Communications Manager Satu Linkola, Länsimetro, tel. +358 46 877 3392

The west metro project has reached its most challenging phase: rock blasting. The project is well on schedule and metro traffic is expected to start as planned towards the end of 2015.

The first phase of the west metro project, the environmental impact assessment phase, was carried out in 2002. This was followed by a cost assessment, geological ground survey, locating the metro on the city plan and detailed project plan. After that, blasting began in Ruoholahti 2009.

Rock blasting is the slowest phase, and work done in the middle of a city slows the project down even more since it cannot be done at night and the blasting must be timed so as not to disturb the residentrs or damage the environment.

Almost all access tunnels and about four kilometres of metro tunnel have now been excavated. Some of the access tunnels wil become service tunnels, and the rest will be landscaped.

"As blasting progresses, test boreholes are drilled, into which water is pumped under pressure. If the rock absorbs more than 60 litres of water per minute, it is so friable that it must be stregthened with injected cement, " explains Länsimetro Oy's managing director Matti Kokkinen.

Work on stations and tracks can begin when the blasting is completed, in the summer of 2012. Track work will begin with the substructure, followed by surface structures and track laying. At the same time, the stations will be fitted with 56 different electrical systems, from lighting to track power supply and smoke detection systems.

The last eight months are reserved for the test drives, with the metro line's external areas, such as escalators, platform areas, station buildings and so on, being completed simultaneously.

"Only one per cent of the work we are doing will be visible above ground," says Mr Kokkinen.