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Helsinki (Helsingfors in Swedish) is the capital of Finland with 555,000 inhabitants and 1.2 million in the metropolitan area (incl. Espoo and Vantaa). The suburbs are spread out over some islands whereas jobs are mainly concentrated in the city centre. On the map, grey names are in Swedish, whereas black names are Finnish.

The Helsinki Metro links the city centre to the eastern suburbs (21 km - 16 stations, two branches). 4.9 km are in a tunnel through the city centre. The bigger part of the line (Kamppi - Itäkeskus) was opened between 1982 and 1983, in 1986 the line was expanded to Kontula and in 1989 further out to Mellunmäki. In the city centre one more station was added to reach Ruoholahti. The branch from Itäkeskus (4 km) east to Vuosaari opened in Sept. 1998. This new stretch runs underground from Itäkeskus to Puotila and further until it reaches Vartiokylänlahti Bay which is crossed on a bridge. From there the line continues in a cutting. The underground stations were equipped as air raid shelters with an overall capacity for 21,000 people. Underground stations in the city centre are built in deep rock, three stations along the eastern section (Herttoniemi, Itäkeskus, Puotila) lie just below ground, with an entrance building on surface level. The remaining stations are on the surface and are generally covered to protect passengers during harsh winters. Only Kulosaari station has about half its platform length in the open. See all stations below >

Travelling time between Ruoholahti and Mellunmäki or Vuosaari is 21-22 minutes (every other train goes to Vuosaari). All stations (7 underground, 9 above ground) are fully accessible by wheelchair. Station platforms are 135 m long. The Metro has 1524 mm gauge (same as state railways) and third rail power supply (750V dc). The Metro control centre is situated at Hakaniemi station. There are two different types of train in service, the original 100-series (1977-1984, built by Valmet / Strömberg, Finland) and the new 200-series (2000-2001, built by Bombardier). Both types of cars cannot be coupled. A 2-car unit is 44.2m long, trains are 3.2m wide. Each car has 3 doors on either side. A full length train consists of 6 cars.

Total length 21.1 km (of which 6.5 km are in tunnel)

From the metro's Rautatientori/Järnvägstorget station (Central Railway Station), three commuter rail lines operate every 5-10 minutes during rush hours. The lines to Tikkurila/Kerava/Riihimäki and to Leppävaara/Espoo/Karjaa run along mainline tracks, which are being upgraded to 4 tracks to separate local from long distance traffic. The line to Vantaankoski (M, 15km) runs on exclusive tracks. The service is called Kaupunkirata (Finnish for "city railway") and offers both local and express services.

Apart from the Metro and the City Railway, Helsinki has a large 1000 mm tram network (75km), which covers all areas in the city centre. Circular Line 3T is promoted as a tourist line.

 History

1 June 1982: Hakaniemi - Itäkeskus (rush hour traffic)
1 July 1982: Rautatientori (Railway Station) - Itäkeskus
3 Aug 1982: official opening (full-time traffic)
1 March 1983: Rautatientori - Kamppi
1 Sept 1984: Sörnäinen station added
21 Oct 1986: Itäkeskus - Kontula
1 Sept 1989: Kontula - Mellunmäki
16 Aug 1993: Kamppi - Ruoholahti
1 Mar 1995: Kaisaniemi station added
31 Aug 1998: Itäkeskus - Vuosaari
1 Jan 2007: Kalasatama station added

A western fully underground extension to the neighbouring city of Espoo, the so-called Länsimetro/Västmetron, has been under construction since late 2009 for completion in 2014. The new section is 13.9 km long and includes seven stations (a further station, called Niittykumpu/Ängskulla may be added later between Jousenpuisto and Matinkylä). While the new estension is being built for automatic driverless operation, the existing line is also retrofitted with platform screen doors and an automatic control system (Trainguard MT) supplied by Siemens. More

The first part of a second metro line might be built from Kamppi to Pasila railway station, with two stations in between,Töölöntori/Tölötorg and Meilahti/Mejlans. Later this line might run from Kamppi towards the east across the bay to Laajasalo island.

All photographs 2003 © UrbanRail.Net (except Kalasatama 2007 © Jouko Ketola)

- OPERATION

5:30 - 23:30 Mon-Sat, 6:30 - 23:30 Sundays, every 5 minutes (every 4 min peak hours) between Ruoholahti/Gräsviken and Itäkeskus/Östra centrum. From the latter station every other train goes to Vuosaari/Nordsjö or to Mellunmäki/Mellungsbacka.

- FARES (05/2009, in Euro)

All tickets allow transfer between metro, local trains, trams and buses within the city of Helsinki:

Single ticket - EUR 2.00/2.50

Tourist Travelcards

1-Day EUR 6.80, 3-Days EUR 13.60, 5-Days EUR 20.40

A reloadable Travel Card has been introduced for the Helsinki Region.

Helsinki City Transport (HKL) Official Site

Länsimetro (Western extension - official site)

YTV - Public Transport in and around Helsinki

VR (Finnish Railways - Commuter Trains)

Helsinki Metro at Wikipedia

U-Bahn Helsinki bei Wikipedia.de

Helsinki Tram at UrbanRail.Net