The metro will connect the southern parts of Espoo to the regional rail transport system. It is estimated that over 100,000 passengers will use the metro daily and that around 60,000 will cross the border between Helsinki and Espoo every day. The busiest stations are likely to be Tapiola, Matinkylä and Lauttasaari.
The extension of rail traffic to the zone of the Western Motorway will strengthen the complex formed by Helsinki and the urban hubs of Tapiola and Matinkylä. Travel between rail traffic stations will become easier. This will work towards the gradual formation of a uniform and highly accessible zone whose development will be spurred by the existence of the stations.
The location of the stations has been decided with a view to the current and future needs of the area. The metro has been designed in close cooperation with city planners and land use and traffic designers. The metro is a long-term project, whose real benefits will take years to materialise.
Environmentally friendly, the metro will increase the efficiency of transport
The metro will particularly shorten the travel time of passengers living near the stations, while supporting environmental objectives, as the energy efficiency of rail traffic exceeds that of bus traffic. Bus lines from southern Espoo to the centre of Helsinki along the Western Motorway will be replaced by feeder traffic. The west metro is also expected to curb the growth of car traffic in southern Espoo.