Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2011 | Page 41

Metro: Time Line

M

etro traffic was introduced to the metropolitan region as operations started
in Helsinki in 1982. The original
metro line has been expanded
many times since. The extension
of the metro line to Espoo has
been on the table from day one,
and the development of the public transport system from Helsinki to the west has been stud-

ied on numerous occasions over
the years.
Finally, the project planning for the west metro was
launched in 2007 and completed in 2008. The Espoo City
Council approved the proposal
for the underground city plan
enabling construction in January 2009 and Helsinki decided on the underground plan in

November 2009. The plan was
ratified in Helsinki in December. Due to appeals concerning
the underground plan in Espoo,
there were some delays in ratifying the plan in Espoo.
Construction of the west
metro began in Ruoholahti in
November 2009, where a metro
plan extending from Ruoholahti
to Salmisaari shore already ex-

isted. An existing maintenance
tunnel in Ruoholahti was used
for excavation towards Salmisaari.
Excavation work began in
Espoo and in Lauttasaari in Helsinki in the summer 2010. The
objective is for the west metro
to open for traffic at the end of
2015. b

The cost estimate was
drafted using the price levels of
October 2007. At that time, the
earth construction cost index indicating the cost level stood at
131.5. The cost estimate covers the construction of the entire project.
The Finnish government
views the metro line to be a
key component of its metropolitan strategy and a crucial part
of not only metropolitan, but national infrastructure. With th