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; 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 begun in Ruoholahti in November 2009 where a metro plan extending from Ruoholahti to Salmisaari shore already existed. An existing maintenance tunnel in Ruoholahti was used for excavation towards Salmisaari.
Excavation work will begun in Espoo and in Lauttasaari in Helsinki in summer 2010. The objective is for the west metro to open for traffic at the end of 2015.
Work started from Ruoholahti. Photo taken from the turnaround track at Ruoholahti.