Year: 2017

On 7 September, the tunnels between a total of four construction sites will be connected on the west metro’s Matinkylä–Kivenlahti stretch. In the various contracts for the west metro, several tunnels are being excavated simultaneously and will eventually meet at the contract area boundary. The stone wall between the tunnels is 3–6 metres thick on average, and this wall will be removed during the breakthrough.

The last remaining thin rock plug separating the tunnels excavated between Kaitaa and Soukka will be blasted through on Thursday afternoon, and the breakthrough between the Sammalvuori depot and the Espoonlahti construction site will take place in the evening. The breakthrough between Sammalvuori and Espoonlahti will occur in phases: first, a narrower connection will be opened between the tunnels and then the hole will be enlarged. The breakthrough between Soukka and Kaitaa will be accomplished with a one-off blasting operation.

The first breakthrough for the second phase of the west metro was made on 10 August, between Kaitaa and Finnoo. This new breakthrough will open tunnel connections from the Kaitaa construction site to both of the surrounding tunnels.

Excavations on the west metro’s Matinkylä–Kivenlahti stretch are now 90% complete. The excavations will be followed by a construction phase that has already begun for Sammalvuori.

Further information: Länsimetro feedback phone number (Mon–Fri 9:00–15:00): +358 50 377 3700

Puhkaistu tunneli Kaitaan ja Soukan työmaiden välillä.

On 7 September, the tunnels between a total of four construction sites will be connected on the west metro’s Matinkylä–Kivenlahti stretch. In the various contracts for the west metro, several tunnels are being excavated simultaneously and will eventually meet at the contract area boundary. The stone wall between the tunnels is 3–6 metres thick on average, and this wall will be removed during the breakthrough.

The last remaining thin rock plug separating the tunnels excavated between Kaitaa and Soukka will be blasted through on Thursday afternoon, and the breakthrough between the Sammalvuori depot and the Espoonlahti construction site will take place in the evening. The breakthrough between Sammalvuori and Espoonlahti will occur in phases: first, a narrower connection will be opened between the tunnels and then the hole will be enlarged. The breakthrough between Soukka and Kaitaa will be accomplished with a one-off blasting operation.

The first breakthrough for the second phase of the west metro was made on 10 August, between Kaitaa and Finnoo. This new breakthrough will open tunnel connections from the Kaitaa construction site to both of the surrounding tunnels.

Excavations on the west metro’s Matinkylä–Kivenlahti stretch are now 90% complete. The excavations will be followed by a construction phase that has already begun for Sammalvuori.

Further information: Länsimetro feedback phone number (Mon–Fri 9:00–15:00): +358 50 377 3700

The Länsi-Uusimaa Department for Rescue Services will hold a drill at the Tapiola metro station on 22 September from around 9:45 to 15:00. In this drill, passenger safety on the west metro will be tested in a simulated evacuation in the actual operating environment of the metro.

During the drill, several emergency vehicles will be moving in the vicinity of the station. The drill will involve the use of harmless light grey smoke that is not hazardous to health. Smoke will be released from the metro’s smoke extraction shafts and will spread in accordance with the wind direction prevailing at the time. No calls to the Emergency Response Centre should be made concerning the smoke used in the rescue drill, unless the smoke originates from a source other than the drill.

The Department for Rescue Services regrets any inconvenience the drill may cause for local residents and companies and other people located in the area. In order to minimise any harmful effects, unnecessary visits to this area should be avoided. This drill will provide valuable information for improving the safety of metro traffic, which will benefit all of us.

Further information on the drill:

Länsimetro Oy, Satu Linkola, Communications Manager, tel. +358 46 877 3392

Länsi-Uusimaa Department for Rescue Services, Heikki Kervinen, Fire Chief, tel. +358 9 8162 8699 (switchboard)

Events during the past week:

• The control centre systems are functioning, but work is ongoing to get them ready for use.
  • The scheduled test drive carried out on 14 September was interrupted due to disturbances in the west metro’s electric system. In addition, other, smaller consecutive traffic disturbances occurred during the test drive.
  When the disturbances in the electric system occurred, the rail’s security system functioned as planned within the pre-defined limits and suspended all traffic. The required actions are being taken and their effect will be tested during the next test drive, which will take place solely on the west metro stretch next Tuesday.

Remaining tasks before traffic begins running:

• Correcting defects in the systems required for the metro’s use
  • Connecting the fire detector system to the Emergency Response Centre
  • Handing the control centre systems over to HKL for the initial production phase
  • Carrying out traffic experiments successfully in accordance with traffic schedules throughout the metro line on at least three days
  • The initial production phase for the maintenance of the stations and rail (HKL): ensuring the metro’s dependability and the reliability of its operation, correcting any defects that are discovered, increasing the readiness of HKL’s employees
  • Passenger rescue drills before the passenger traffic service begins
  • Required approvals from authorities for commencing passenger traffic

The next status update will be given on 22 September.

Further information:
Ville Lehmuskoski, Managing Director, HKL, tel. +358 40 520 6710
Ville Saksi, CEO, Länsimetro Oy, tel. +358 40 823 2086

Events during the past week:

• On 4 September, the Helsinki City Rescue Department gave a favourable opinion on opening the Koivusaari and Lauttasaari stations for use. Based on this favourable opinion, HKL has been able to begin the preparations required before metro trains can start running.
• On 31 August, the Länsi-Uusimaa Rescue Department gave a favourable opinion concerning the six stations located in Espoo.
• The effectiveness of the joint situation management model of Länsimetro and HKL was improved, with the objectives being seamless co-ordination of the actions of all parties and improvements in schedule accuracy.
• A decision was made to publish weekly status updates after the review meetings held on Fridays.
• The station-specific final cleaning operations by contractors have mainly been completed.
• It has been agreed with the rescue departments that voice evacuation, sprinkler, gas suppression and fire detector systems can be connected to the Emergency Rescue Centre. The target schedule for these connections is next week.

Remaining tasks before traffic will begin running:

• Handover of fully functioning control systems for HKL’s use
• Obtaining final approvals from the building control authorities of Espoo and Helsinki for the commencement of passenger traffic services
• Implementing other necessary changes based on the observations of HKL and Länsimetro
• The initial production phase for the maintenance of the stations and rail (HKL), increasing the readiness of employees, ensuring that the entire entity functions and correcting any defects discovered
• Traffic experiments carried out in accordance with traffic schedules
• A two-week test period performed successfully by HKL after the initial start-up of systems

Other issues:

The rolling fire door located at the M level of the Iso Omena shopping centre in Matinkylä will be replaced with the final door solution in order to improve fire safety. This replacement operation will begin next week. The door separates the shopping centre and the metro areas and is located at the top of the metro station’s escalator. In addition, the rolling fire door separating the shopping centre and the station in Niittykumpu will be replaced later on. Work related to a similar door in Lauttasaari is still being completed. These door-related works will have no effect on the commissioning schedule.

The next status update will be given on 15 September.

Further information:

Ville Saksi, CEO, Länsimetro Oy, tel. +358 40 823 2086

Ville Lehmuskoski, Managing Director, HKL, tel. +358 40 520 6710

The progress made in introducing the first phase of the West Metro was presented to the Board.

Progress with the Matinkylä-Kivenlahti line, which forms part of the second phase of the project, was presented to the Board. The excavations on this section are progressing as planned.

Managing Director Ville Saksi presented the project management system. The management system has been revised in accordance with the reorganisation of the project’s second phase. In addition to the Management Team, decision-making within the project is divided between the Project Team, the Design Management Team, the Construction Management Team and the Management Team for the Implementation of Technical Systems.

The Chief Financial Officer of Länsimetro Oy presented the company’s financial situation to the Board. The Managing Director was authorised to begin a tendering exercise and enter into a contract with respect to EUR 25 million of financing for the second phase of the Matinkylä-Kivenlahti line.

The next meeting will be held on 10 October.

Further information:
Ville Saksi, CEO, Länsimetro Oy, tel. +358 (0)40 823 2086
Olli Isotalo, Chairman of the Board of Länsimetro Oy, tel. +358 (0)50 593 3359
Media contacts: Satu Linkola,Communications Director, tel. +358 (0)46 877 3392

The excavation contracts of the West Metro’s second phase, i.e. the metro line from Matinkylä to Kivenlahti, are nearing their end. Altogether, the second phase includes the construction of five new stations – Finnoo, Kaitaa, Soukka, Espoonlahti and Kivenlahti – and an underground metro depot in Sammalvuori.

The Sammalvuori excavation contract was completed in July 2017, and the construction project for the depot has already started. Tunnel excavations have also been completed in Soukka – only the Yläkartano entrance remains to be excavated, and is estimated to be completed in the spring of 2018. Station excavation work will continue until November in Kivenlahti, and until October 2017 for the Kauklahdenväylä shaft.

Excavation work is well under way also at other worksites – excavations are 92.5% complete for the Espoonlahti contract, 83.7% in Kaitaa and 74.1% in Finnoo. Overall, 89.5% of all the excavations for the second phase have been completed, and a total of 13,940 solid cubic metres of stone have been excavated between Matinkylä and Kivenlahti.

In many of the second phase tunnels, there is only a thin rock plug separating the different projects from each other. Connections between adjacent tunnels will only be made towards the end of the projects or when it is the most convenient in terms of work stages. The first connection from one tunnel to another was made between Finnoo and Kaitaa in August 2017, and connections will be made between Espoonlahti and Sammalvuori as well as Espoonlahti and Soukka in September.

You can follow the progress of the excavation work in the West Metro follow-up service: seuranta.lansimetro.fi.