Länsimetro (English: Western Metro, Swedish: Västmetron) is an extension to the Helsinki Metro system in Finland, which opened on 18 November 2017. Länsimetro extends the system's two lines, M1 and M2, from Central Helsinki to the neighbouring city of Espoo. The new stretch continues the lines from the existing Ruoholahti station via the island of Lauttasaari, the Aalto University Otaniemi campus and Tapiola, the terminus of line M2. Line M1 continues further west to Matinkylä. Unlike previous extensions to the Helsinki Metro system, Länsimetro runs entirely underground. The second phase opened on 3 December 2022 and continues the line further west to Kivenlahti, near the municipal border of Kirkkonummi.
Final approval for a route was granted on 4 April 2007, and construction began in November 2009. In February 2014, rock blasting was completed, and the fitting out of the tunnels and construction of the stations was started. The opening of the extension was planned for August 2016, but was delayed until November 2017.
Background
The first designs for a metro system in Helsinki, made in the 1950s, already contained lines to Espoo. After the two forks of the metro line in eastern Helsinki had been completed in 1998, the city of Helsinki continued to pursue the Länsimetro proposal, but the city of Espoo continued to reject it until the early 2000s.
After Helsinki, Espoo is the second most populous city in Finland, served by roads, bus transport, and commuter trains, but previously not connected to the metro system. It is connected to Helsinki by the Rantarata coastal railway and by two motorways: Finnish national road 1 (Turun moottoritie, to Turku) in the middle and the Western Highway (the Länsiväylä) in the south, near the coast. As the primary passageway between southern Espoo and central Helsinki, the Länsiväylä has been repeatedly enlarged to cope with congestion, but still experiences chronic traffic jams during morning rush hours. Widening the Länsiväylä has not solved the traffic jams, but has instead moved them closer to the centre of Helsinki (see also Downs–Thomson paradox).
Since the 1990s, the Finnish state and the city of Helsinki had been willing to finance a part of the Länsimetro project and prepared to commence construction. However, Espoo opposed the project for a long time, mainly because of the cost: the state had only agreed to pay 30% of the costs, while Espoo wanted them to contribute at least 70%.
Espoo's decision
In 1997, Helsinki made an official proposal to Espoo to construct the Länsimetro. A year later, on 8 December 1998, Espoo city council decided to support the extension only to Tapiola, rejecting a continuation to Matinkylä and Kivenlahti. On 16 February 1999, the city council changed its mind, and voted 48 to 18 in support of building the extension to Matinkylä. (These decisions did not yet authorize construction. In June 2012, Espoo was keen on continuing the line from Matinkylä to Kivenlahti as soon as possible, wishing to commence the construction of this second phase even before the first phase entered service.)
The issue of the extension was revived in 2002, when the Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council (YTV) was drafting a new master plan for public transportation in the Helsinki area. Counter to the view taken by Espoo city council, YTV prioritised the Länsimetro over the construction of a light railway between Helsinki and Espoo. A compromise solution was reached, as an investigation into the alternative of constructing such a light rail line was added to the plan, with a proposed construction schedule from 2010 to 2020.
According to a survey commissioned by Helsingin Sanomat in late 2005, 77% of Espoo residents and 90% of Helsinki residents were in favour of the Länsimetro.
On 25 September 2006, Espoo city council approved the construction of the Länsimetro by a vote of 45 to 19. In its decision, the council set a number of conditions for the project: The Finnish state must commit to financing the Länsimetro extension all the way to Kivenlahti. The existing heavy railway line between Leppävaara and Espoo Centre should be widened from double-track to triple-track, in conjunction with the Länsimetro project. The orbital Jokeri bus line should be converted to a light rail line/tram as soon as possible. The orbital Kehä I ring road should be improved. The orbital Kehä II ring road should be extended into Helsinki via Vihdintie to Hämeenlinnanväylä.