News

Länsimetro is taking part in Espoonlahti Parish’s Christmas tree campaign for the second year in a row. Espoonlahti Parish is setting up an arboretum of Christmas trees at Soukka Chapel and enlisting local organisations to decorate them. In addition to Länsimetro, other organisations with their own Christmas tree in Soukka include Espoonlahti Scout Groups, the Mannerheim League for Child Welfare and K-Supermarket Soukka. A total of 17 organisations will contribute to decorating this year’s trees.

“It is important for us to have good relationships with organisations that operate within the area affected by our construction works, and our cooperation with Espoonlahti Parish has always run smoothly. This is a nice, festive campaign that we are thrilled to be a part of again”, says Länsimetro’s Communications Manager Saija Räsänen.

The West Metro station in Soukka will be located just 300 metres from the chapel. In fact, all the stations that will be built during the second phase of the project are within Espoonlahti Parish, and the church will therefore benefit from the handy access that the West Metro will provide for its followers who live further away.

The arboretum will be set up on 14 December, and the official switch-on ceremony at the chapel is scheduled for Sunday, 16 December. The trees will bring cheer to passers-by outside the chapel until 23 December, when they – and their decorations – will be donated to families in need. The organisations responsible for decorating the trees are free to choose their own theme – Länsimetro’s tree will be adorned with orange baubles.

The construction works of the West Metro Espoonlahti station will begin in December 2018. The contract is being undertaken by  SRV.

The contract includes the construction of Espoonlahti underground metro service tunnel, its entrances on Espoonlahdentori and Solmutori, a bus terminal adjoining the Lippulaiva shopping centre and a service tunnel and connecting tunnels to the station.

The first step is to set up a base for the works at Tähystäjänkatu 4. The construction of the station begins with the platform level’s framework, consisting of concrete walls, pillars and arches. The framework construction begins from the bottom up, advancing floor by floor towards the surface.

During construction, there will be an increase in construction traffic around the mouths of the shafts and access tunnels. Otherwise, construction will cause no major changes in the surrounding environment.

During the construction phase, quiet work may be done around the clock, but noisy work may be done according to the noise permit issued by the Espoo Environment Agency:

• between 7 am and 6 pm from Monday to Friday
• between 6 pm and 10 pm from Monday to Friday and between 9 am and 6 pm on Saturdays, provided that the resulting noise levels in nearby residential properties do not exceed 35 dB

The West Metro’s Matinkylä–Kivenlahti section is due to be built between 2019 and 2022. The building phase will include five stations, the track and the Sammalvuori depot, as well as the installation of various systems. Work will be handed over by the contractors in 2022– 2023, followed by joint use tests and official inspections. The operator, Helsinki City Transport, will take over the stations and the track in 2023 in preparation for launching passenger transport.

We will tell you more about the Espoonlahti construction project in a resident event on Monday, 10 December 2018 at 17.30-18.30 at Espoonlahti Church (Kipparinkatu 8). Welcome!

Further information:

West Metro feedback phone number (Mon–Fri, 9 am – 3 pm): +358 50 377 3700

SRV contact person: Project Manager  Juho Varelius, juho.varelius(at)srv.fi

Contractor on-duty phone line (24/7): +358 40 637 5377

Länsi-Uusimaa Rescue Department is planning a safety drill along the West Metro rail line at Hyljetie 6 from 9.30 am on Monday, 3 December. The drill will take approximately two hours.

The aim of the safety drill is to practise evacuating the tunnels and to test the effectiveness of rescue services’, Länsimetro’s and the contractor’s joint procedures. The drill will be the twelfth safety drill along the Matinkylä–Kivenlahti section and the 45^th during the entire West Metro project.

The participants will include Länsi-Uusimaa Rescue Department, the contractor, Graniittirakennus Kallio Oy, and the West Metro project team. The drill scenario will be a fire in a tunnel between Matinkylä and Finnoo. Artificial smoke will be used during the drill, which may drift out of the tunnel via the shaft on Suomenlahdentie. The smoke is harmless, and sightings of it do not need to be reported to emergency services.

The public are advised to avoid the area if possible.

Further information on the drill:

Juhan-Petteri Laakso, Fire Foreman, Länsi-Uusimaa Rescue Department, tel. +358 (0)40 532 7334, juhan-petteri.laakso@espoo.fi

Satu Linkola, Communications Director, West Metro, tel. +358 (0)46 877 3392, satu.linkola@lansimetro.fi

SRV has won the project management contract for the Espoonlahti station on the Matinkylä–Kivenlahti section of the West Metro. The total contract price is approximately EUR 48 million. All project management contractors for the second phase have now been selected, and construction will be underway at each station by the end of the year.

In Espoonlahti, the contract includes the construction of the underground metro service tunnel, its entrances on Espoonlahdentori and Solmutori, a bus terminal adjoining the Lippulaiva shopping centre and a service tunnel and connecting tunnels to the station.

“The Espoonlahti metro contract is a natural continuation to other contracts carried out by SRV for the metro. At this site, we will be able to demonstrate our expertise in the management and implementation of demanding projects. In 2016, SRV oversaw the completion of the Koivusaari metro station as the project management contractor. In addition, SRV has previously carried out the station and tunnel excavation and reinforcement work for the Otaniemi and Kaitaa metro stations of the West Metro,” says Antti Raunemaa, Head of Unit at SRV.

Construction of the second phase is on schedule and within the cost estimate. This year, work has progressed from excavation to construction. Work is already underway in Kivenlahti, Soukka, Kaitaa, Finnoo and on the rail line. Construction of the Espoonlahti station will also begin by the end of the year. At the Sammalvuori depot, work has already progressed to technical building services.

“Tendering is now complete for all major contracts for the second phase. We have found experienced contractors for each of the stations and the rail line. The market situation has remained good, competition has been sufficient and as a whole, procurement has been carried out smoothly. Tendering for the subcontracts will continue until spring 2019,” says Ville Saksi, CEO of Länsimetro Oy.

In March 2018, the City of Espoo reviewed its project plan for the second phase from 2012. 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@lansimetro.fi

Juha Toimela, Deputy CEO, SRV, tel. +358 (0)40 594 5473, juha.toimela@srv.fi

Antti Raunemaa, Head of Unit, SRV, tel. +358 (0)40 564 4105, antti.raunemaa@srv.fi

Works involving the cutting of the ground-supported floor of the Matinkylä service tunnel will take place between 9.00 am and 3.00 pm on 29 and 30 November in both smoke extraction shafts. The works relate to the development of the Tynnyripuisto area.

Noise from the works may reach the platforms and nearby properties via the smoke extraction shafts.

We apologise for the inconvenience.

Further information:

Perttu Tavia, Project Manager, West Metro: +358 (0)50 378 5164, perttu.tavia@lansimetro.fi

One of the project management tools in the second phase of the West Metro is a war room which continuously generates real-time information on the project schedule and costs. Another aim is to streamline communications between all parties to the project.  

In the West Metro’s big room, a situational picture of the overall project is continuously monitored from real-time digital displays. This involves a war room which has been in use for the project since the spring of 2018.

“Our goal is to obtain accurate, real-time and sufficiently clear information to enable problems to be tackled right away. To achieve the budget and schedule-related goals of the second phase of the West Metro, we had to create a new way of managing the project and thinking about project management,” says Timo Heiskanen, War Room Manager at Länsimetro.

The progress of the seven sub-projects – the five metro stations, the depot and the line – is tracked throughout the construction cycle, from the planning, acquisition, permit application and execution phases onwards. As well as the project schedule, the costs, risks, quality, smoothness of cooperation and occupational safety are monitored, using a ‘traffic light’ system, from the war room.

“These are the elements that create a successful project,” says Heiskanen.

War room data enables real-time management and troubleshooting by the project management.

“The project management meets regularly in the war room to discuss each sub-area in face-to-face meetings. This ensures that everyone is on the same page and can decide on corrective measures, if necessary,” says Jaakko Naamanka, Project Manager of the Matinkylä-Kivenlahti project.

The construction of just one West Metro station is the equivalent of building a large shopping centre underground. A project of this size involves a range of actors – real estate developers, designers, equipment suppliers, contractors and the public authorities – all of which must keep to the same schedule and pull together.

“Each operator is responsible for its own area: the basic principle is that the schedule is non-negotiable. It is my job to make the schedule as clear as possible to everyone,” says Heiskanen.

A war room or situational snapshot means more than just monitors on a wall – they are part of an overall set of practices, holistic processes and a management culture.

“The primary purpose of the war room is to communicate the situation to the different parties. Communication is a priority in large projects. When working towards a common goal, each actor must understand the impact of its work on the overall project. When developing the current model, we aimed at achieving the clearest possible communication on matters involving complex technical data,” says Heiskanen.

In the second phase of the West Metro, Matinkylä-Kivenlahti, the main electricity distribution contract was won by a consortium between Winco Oy and Eurolaite. The total value of the contract is EUR 4.8 million.

The main electricity distribution contract comprises medium voltage instruments, distribution transformers with auxiliary systems and necessary cabling including equipment, materials and installations. More than 50 kilometres of medium voltage cable is installed in the project, which will function as the main electricity distribution network for the railway between Matinkylä and Kivenlahti.

”For Winco, the project is an important first step into projects involved in the second phase of the West Metro. In addition to strong electrotechnical expertise, we utilise lessons learned during the first phase of the West Metro. The project is also a good continuation to GRK’s current projects on the rail line and Finnoo station,” says Winco’s District Manager Tero Palosaari.

Eurolaite delivers distribution transformers and cabling equipment as well as occupational safety equipment for the project. Eurolaite has the most comprehensive product range in Finland for railway electrification.

The main electricity supply project will start in November 2018.

“The installation of the main electricity distribution network is an important part of completing the second phase. The consortium has the necessary experience and expertise in demanding underground construction,” says Länsimetro Oy’s Technical Director Raimo Kaunismäki.

The second phase of the West Metro is estimated to be completed in 2023. This year, work has progressed from excavation to construction. Project management contractors have been selected for all five stations and the railway.  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. raimo.kaunismaki(at)lansimetro.fi, tel.  +358 50 390 6670

Construction of the West Metro’s station stop in Finnoo is set to begin in October 2018. The contractor is a consortium formed of Graniittirakennus Kallio Oy and Aki Hyrkkönen Oy.

The contract covers the construction of the underground station, a service tunnel and connecting tunnels as well as exits on Meritie and Finnoonsilta. Access shafts for engineering works will be built to the east and to the west, and a firefighting shaft will also be provided.

The first step is to set up a base for the works. The works will begin with the construction of a framework for the station’s platforms, including concrete walls, columns and arches. The framework construction begins from the bottom up, advancing floor by floor towards the surface.

During construction, there will be an increase in construction traffic around the mouths of the shafts and access tunnels. Otherwise, construction will cause no major changes in the surrounding environment.

During the construction phase, quiet work may be done around the clock, but noisy work may be done according to the noise permit issued by the Espoo Environment Agency:

• between 7 am and 6 pm from Monday to Friday
• between 6 pm and 10 pm from Monday to Friday and between 9 am and 6 pm on Saturdays, provided that the resulting noise levels in nearby residential properties do not exceed 35 dB

The West Metro’s Matinkylä–Kivenlahti section is due to be built between 2019 and 2022. All in all, the construction phase of the project comprises the construction of five stations, tracks and a depot in Sammalvuori as well as the installation of various systems. Work will be handed over by the contractors in 2022– 2023, followed by joint use tests and official inspections. The operator, Helsinki City Transport, will take over the stations and the track in 2023 in preparation for launching passenger transport.

More information about the construction works in Finnoo will be provided at a residents’ meeting at Iivisniemi School (Arttelkuja 4) between 5.30 pm and 6.30 pm on Monday, 8 October 2018. We look forward to seeing you there!

Further information:

West Metro feedback phone number (Mon–Fri, 9 am – 3 pm): +358 50 377 3700

GRK Oy’s contact person: jaakko.makela@grk.fi