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A communal showcase for the area’s residents is being piloted at the Kaitaa metro station. The first exhibition was created by the Kaitaa lower secondary school in collaboration with KAMU Espoo City Museum.

The visual arts-orientated group of the Kaitaa school’s eighth grade created the ‘Evolving kaitaa’ (Muuttuva Kaitaa) arts project. The project’s objective was to explore, reflect on and make visible the neighbourhood’s history and evolution through art. The project was implemented in collaboration with KAMU Espoo City Museum, and Länsimetro provided a showcase for the project at the metro station.

The exhibition was opened on Tuesday 11 March 2025 and will be on display until the end of April. The showcase is located at the entrance to the metro station, on the street level. The street address of entrance is  Kaitaantie 14. The showcase is outside the paid zone. The paid zone, in which a valid travel ticket is required, begins at the ticket readers.

Students inspired by the neighbourhood and local history

“The school’s art project began in October with the students exploring the area and getting to know the local history. The students visited Villa Rulludd under the guidance of KAMU’s educators Helena Heikkilä and Iris Hyyrynen, who later gave an inspiring lecture on the area’s history. The students also went on walks to discover other areas in Kaitaa and examples of more recent architecture. To support their own artistic work, the students took visual notes by photographing,” says visual arts teacher Maria Annala from Kaitaa School.

Based on the background research, the students brainstormed and created their artwork using their chosen technique. The creations are pencil and coloured pencil drawings, watercolour and acrylic paintings, and three-dimensional scale models. Some of the creations depict a certain era, while others showcase the evolution of the neighbourhood through architecture.

In summer 2025, photographs of the art created for the Evolving Kaitaa project will also be on display at Lilla Villan on Espoo’s Pentala island. The photo exhibition will be organised in collaboration with KAMU.

A communal showcase at the metro station tells the story of the area

The students’ artwork is currently on display in the communal showcase at the Kaitaa metro station. The exhibition is the first in a series of pilot exhibitions at the metro station.

“At Länsimetro, we are looking for new ways to enliven the stations and highlight the areas surrounding the stations. Each of the West Metro stations features unique architecture and reflects the cityscape of their respective area. Exhibition activities at the metro stations have garnered interest over the years, and, inspired by an active teacher, we decided to pilot a communal showcase at Kaitaa,” says Länsimetro’s Communications Manager Marianne Partanen.

The Kaitaa showcase is intended as an exhibition space for the actors in the vicinity of the station, such as schools, day-care centres and recreation clubs. More information about the communal showcase

Further information
Kaitaa School’s art project: visual arts teacher Maria Annala (maria.annala@opetus.espoo.fi)
The metro station and the showcase: Communications Manager Marianne Partanen (marianne.partanen@lansimetro.fi, tel. +358 (0)43 825 9607

You are warmly welcome to perform at the busking areas in metro stations.

• The areas are intended for short (1–2h) performances, such as street music or other small performances.
• The busking places cannot be reserved in advance, but can be used on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.
• Before starting a performance, please inform the metro’s security guards. If you cannot find a security guard at the metro station, you may begin performing. The security guards have the right to interrupt a performance if it disrupts the station’s operations.
• The busking areas are not intended to be used to market or promote a private company or commercial product, or any ideological, religious or political stances.

See the busking areas list.

Matias Johansson will serve as Länsimetro’s interim CEO starting on 1 January 2024, as Ville Saksi steps down from his role as CEO to take a position at another company. The interim CEO’s appointment will be in effect until a new CEO is appointed.

Johansson has served as Länsimetro’s CFO since spring of 2017.

Contact information
Matias Johansson, tel. +358 40 590 0313, firstname.lastname(at)lansimetro.fi

Länsimetro Oy is the owner of modern metro infrastructure that will stand the test of time. Länsimetro owns nearly 50% of the Helsinki region’s metro line kilometres: the 21-kilometre rail line section from Ruoholahti in Helsinki to Kivenlahti in Espoo, 13 metro stations, an underground metro depot and the technical systems. Länsimetro’s task is to ensure that the metro infrastructure it owns is in good condition and safe throughout its life cycle.

Sustainability is also at the heart of the metro infrastructure’s ownership. Länsimetro’s sustainability programme was completed at the start of summer 2023. The programme concerns the entire group and covers all areas of Länsimetro’s operations from a sustainability perspective. It brings together the principles to be complied with in the operations in terms of ownership of the metro infrastructure, financials, construction and corporate governance. Representatives from different operational areas participated in drawing up the programme. The sustainability programme will be updated regularly.

“At Länsimetro, sustainability has been firmly integrated into our day-to-day operations. The programme aims to highlight and better understand what we already do sustainably and to identify development areas that will steer our actions and day-to-day activities in an increasingly sustainable direction. The purpose of the programme is also to encourage Länsimetro employees to adopt more sustainable practices and develop new sustainable actions,” says Director of Administration Mari Mannila.

The main sustainability themes guiding Länsimetro’s operations are described in the website’s Sustainability section. In addition, examples of the measures taken to promote sustainability at Länsimetro will be given in the company’s communications.

Länsimetro Oy will move to Keilaniemi in Espoo.  From 19th June 2023 our new address will be Keilaranta 6, 02150 Espoo Our new mailing adress will be PL 15401, 02070 CITY OF ESPOO:

Länsimetro Oy has entered a new phase of operations this year after the multi-year West Metro construction project was completed and commuter traffic began on phase II, the Matinkylä–Kivenlahti section, in December 2022. Phase I consisted of constructing the Ruoholahti–Matinkylä section, on which commuter traffic began in November 2017.

“This year at Länsimetro, we have sharpened our new shared direction as an owner of modern metro infrastructure that will stand the test of time, creating strategic outlines for the years ahead. This has already led to concrete changes in many employees’ job profiles and in the summer, the expert organisation will move to Keilaniemi, into premises that are better suited for a team with fewer members than the project organisation. The Board of Directors approved Länsimetro Oy’s strategic outlines in its meeting in May. Länsimetro Oy operates in the background of the public transport operators as the expert organisation for owning and developing the metro infrastructure and uses its expertise to ensure that the metro is a successful, safe and attractive form of transport. Länsimetro will continue to carry out its own development tasks, including the construction and commissioning of the second entrances to the Kivenlahti and Koivusaari stations as the areas develop. Länsimetro will also participate with its expertise in the changes and development taking place in the urban environment,” says Ville Saksi, CEO of Länsimetro Oy.

Länsimetro’s new logo and colour scheme

Länsimetro’s look was freshened up to mark the beginning of a new phase and a shift in the focus of its operations. The new look is meant to further reinforce the company’s identity as an owner of modern metro infrastructure that will stand the test of time.

• The circle in the new logo depicts a station symbol. Länsimetro owns 13 metro stations: Lauttasaari, Koivusaari, Keilaniemi, Aalto University, Tapiola, Urheilupuisto, Niittykumpu, Matinkylä, Finnoo, Kaitaa, Soukka, Espoonlahti and Kivenlahti.
• The letters L and M linked together inside the circle symbolise the metro track which comes in on one side and goes out on the other side of the circle in a continuous movement. The track section for commuter traffic owned by Länsimetro from Helsinki’s Ruoholahti to Espoo’s Kivenlahti is 21 kilometres long. The continuous line also illustrates that the metro track and stations in the Helsinki region continue to the east after the section owned by Länsimetro. The trunk metro line runs eastward from Ruoholahti and is owned by the City of Helsinki (Helsinki City Transport, HKL). Continuous co-operation is key.
• The logo is blue. Länsimetro Oy is a mutual real estate company jointly owned by the City of Espoo (85%) and the City of Helsinki (15%). Länsimetro’s logo brings together the blue found in the logo of the City of Espoo and the blue hues of the Helsinki brand. The logo’s colours are also in line with the colour scheme used by Länsimetro’s key partners, Metropolitan Area Transport, Helsinki City Transport and the Helsinki Regional Transport Authority (HSL), because Länsimetro, as the owner of modern metro infrastructure and an expert organisation, works closely with the public transport operators in the Helsinki region.