Year: 2018

In 2018, work progressed from excavation to construction on Länsimetro’s Matinkylä–Kivenlahti section. Construction contracts were tendered out in several stages over the year, and construction began on schedule at five stations and on the rail line. The construction of the Sammalvuori depot has progressed to work on the building services. In addition to the schedule targets, also the cost targets were achieved. Excavation contracts remained approximately EUR 14 million below the budget.

During the year, the project adopted a situation management model, so called war room concept,  which is new in the construction industry. In this model, project management works in a so-called big room, monitoring the progress of planning, acquisitions, the permit process and implementation as well as occupational safety and cooperation in each construction site, i.e. the stations, the rail line and the depot. Any data from the construction sites and the various sources is processed and analysed on interactive displays. Measurement of the project’s internal communications and cooperation began in the summer. A training system, the Metro Academy, was created to support training and the exchange of information during the project. These development measures brought Länsimetro the Project of the Year award granted by Project Management Association Finland in October.

–       The second phase is now going full speed ahead. We have taken full advantage of the experiences gained and lessons learned during the first phase by revising our management model, introducing a situation management model and investing in communications. Construction-related procurements remained within budget. Excavation contracts ran smoothly and, as a whole, remained approximately EUR 14 million below the budget, says Länsimetro Oy’s CEO Ville Saksi.

Other goals were also achieved. During the year, a total of 13,400 construction and production plans were completed. The key building permits needed for starting the construction work were obtained from the construction supervision authorities. Phase two includes a total of 24 subcontracts, 17 of which were tendered out during the year. The tendering process for the contracts that will be carried out later will continue until the summer of 2019. Occupational safety remained at a good level.

In March 2018, the City of Espoo approved an adjusted project plan for the Matinkylä–Kivenlahti section. The revised cost estimate for the entire project is EUR 1,159 million. The aim is to hand over the seven kilometres of rail line and five stations and depot to the operator, Helsinki City Transport, during 2023.

Further information:

Ville Saksi, CEO, Länsimetro Oy, tel. +358 (0)40 823 2086, ville.saksi(at)lansimetro.fi

Art is planned to be included in the architecture of five new metro stations of the West Metro. Artwork will be created as a result of cooperation between architects and artists. The various forms of art will increase the comfort and identity of stations.

Art in various forms will be included in the five stations on the Matinkylä–Kivenlahti section of the West Metro. Jaakko Niemelä is the Art Coordinator in the project. His task is to ensure that the art project progresses within the agreed schedule and that there is smooth cooperation between the various parties. Art selections are made by a work group that consists of representatives from the Espoo Museum of Modern Art, the Cultural Unit of the City of Espoo, West Metro, and station architects and the principal architectural designer.

Within the art project, architecture will determine the main themes at stations.  The aim is to have art in various forms at stations; light, sound, paintings and sculpture. Artwork must also blend into the architecture of a station and be easily accessible for maintenance.

“Architects and the principal designers of stations are essential in the implementation and artists must listen to them carefully. On the one hand, specified themes for stations restrict implementation but on the other hand, it will also be easier for artists to work on a specified set of themes,” Niemelä states.

Art will increase comfort at stations but it also serves the overall design of stations – it will make navigation easier: when a passenger sees a unique piece of art from the train window and knows which station they are at with the help of the artwork.

Currently, the focus is on finding suitable art forms and themes for each station as well as locations for the artwork. “Our goal is to create an entity through cooperation so that architecture and art support each other or form interesting contrasts,” says Niemelä.

Selected artwork and artists will be published in the early part of 2019.

Further information:

Artist, West Metro project Art Coordinator Jaakko Niemelä, tel. +358 (0)50 598 4201, jaakko.niemela(at)nic.fi

Länsimetro Oy, Communications Director, Satu Linkola, tel. +358 (0)46 877 3392, satu.linkola(at)lansimetro.fi

Several members of the public have written letters to the editor of the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper proposing ways to ease rush-hour congestion on the metro (Hannu Valta on 16 November, Tapio Pento on 27 November and Kauko Korpela on 30 November). Ensuring the high standard and sufficient capacity of metro services is vital for us. However, lengthening the platforms at West Metro stations or operating services using longer trains are not feasible solutions to the problem.

The current metro stations are not just tracks and a platform in between but a complex entity consisting of more than 50 systems. The ability to evacuate underground stations efficiently is a key consideration. The emergency exits (stairs and escalators) of the current West Metro stations have been designed so as to enable the safe evacuation of two full 90-metre trains arriving at the station simultaneously. Operating 135-metre trains at the stations would require a 50% increase in the emergency exits’ capacity. This would require major structural changes, and many stations would need to be practically rebuilt.

Lengthening platforms and operating services with longer trains would also require redesigning the stations’ technical facilities, fire doors, crossovers, points, signage, etc. This would be a laborious process that would probably require discontinuing the operation of metro services for a period of several years. The solution would be extremely challenging and expensive to implement.

However, there are other ways to increase the standard of service and capacity. More frequent services can be operated if passenger numbers increase. Helsinki City Transport, the Helsinki Regional Transport Authority and Länsimetro Oy are about to begin a feasibility study on the best way to increase the number of services. One way to increase the number of services would be to adopt more sophisticated traffic control systems. Automation has been used successfully to increase the capacity of underground systems around the world.

Another solution in addition to increasing the number of services could be to extend the line that currently terminates in Tapiola further west. The Cities of Espoo and Helsinki, together with the Helsinki Regional Transport Authority, are exploring this option as well as the possibility of improving the standard of service by building a new turnaround track to the west.

In the short term, congestion on the metro can be eased by less drastic measures such as supplementary bus services. The Helsinki Regional Transport Authority has been operating a bus service between Kamppi and Espoonlahti since October.

Tero Anttila, Director of Public Transport Planning Department, Helsinki Regional Transport Authority

Ville Lehmuskoski, Managing Director, Helsinki City Transport

Ville Saksi, CEO, Länsimetro Oy

Smoke extraction fans for the Matinkylä-Kivenlahti section will be supplied by Spanish manufacturer Talleres Zitrón S.A. The total contract price is EUR 1.8 million.

Smoke extraction fans are used in the event of fire to exhaust smoke from underground areas through smoke zone routes to open air. Smoke extraction fans are installed on vertical shafts in the metro line and in the east and west ends of stations. The second-phase metro line and stations will have a total of 15 extraction fans. Talleres Zitrón also supplied a total of 32 extraction fans for the first phase of the West Metro from Ruoholahti to Matinkylä.

Operation of the smoke extraction fans was tested on the first phase of the West Metro by means such as passenger rescue drills before metro service was begun. The 52 different systems of the West Metro guarantee passenger safety at all times, including emergencies. High-performance smoke extraction fans exhaust smoke quickly through the correct routes to ensure that passengers can be evacuated safely.  In the West Metro, the movement of passengers between tunnels has been facilitated by, for example, constructing fire compartmented connecting tunnels in intervals of some 150 meters and by equipping both tunnels with prefabricated concrete units whose covers that serve as emergency exits.

Talleres Zitrón supplies smoke extraction fans for demanding applications, such as the metro projects in London, Milan and Rome. The company has supplied extraction fans to some 100 metro systems around the world.  The first smoke extraction fans will be delivered to Kivenlahti in the summer of 2019.

The second phase of the West Metro is estimated to be completed in 2023. This year, work has progressed from excavation to construction.  The project management contractors for all five stations and the rail line have been selected, and construction will begin at all stations by the end of the year. On the rail line, some 360 supporting wall elements have already been installed over a distance of 1.5 kilometres. The tendering of subcontracts will continue until summer 2019. At the Sammalvuori depot, work has already progressed to technical building services.

Construction on the stations and rail line will continue until 2022, after which the project will proceed to the commissioning phase. This includes the acceptance of contracts, extensive testing and regulatory approvals. Länsimetro’s share of the project will be completed once the metro is handed over to the operator to begin preparations for passenger traffic.

More information:
Länsimetro Oy, Technical Director Raimo Kaunismäki, tel.  050 390 6670

Photo: Talleres Zitrón S.A