The West Metro construction project ended in autumn 2022 and commuter traffic started up on the Matinkylä–Kivenlahti section in December. After the construction project ended, the focus of Länsimetro’s operations shifted from construction to metro infrastructure ownership.
“The transition from construction to ownership has required, for instance, change management and a clarification of the shared direction. Länsimetro Oy operates behind 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,” says Länsimetro Oy’s CEO Ville Saksi.
Länsimetro ensures that the metro infrastructure in its ownership is maintained and developed wisely in terms of the life cycle to guarantee that the infrastructure functions well and safely long into the future. As the owner of the metro infrastructure, Länsimetro Oy contributes to ensuring that the metro remains an attractive transport option and serves customers for decades to come.
“As a responsible and cost-aware metro infrastructure owner, Länsimetro ensures that the metro infrastructure is in good condition and safe throughout its life cycle. Our task is to ensure that the maintenance and servicing services for the metro infrastructure are implemented throughout its life cycle in line with the set goals. We accentuate a proactive approach to infrastructure maintenance as surprising investment needs or repair backlog in metro infrastructure would not be in anyone’s interest,” says Maintenance Manager Juhani Penttilä, commenting on the tasks related to owning metro infrastructure.
Considering the environment and society was a key part of building the metro. Sustainability is also at the core of ownership and Länsimetro carries out long-standing work in the sphere of sustainability. We identify energy saving opportunities at our stations and in the infrastructure, for example.
“We want to continue to operate responsibly in tasks related to ownership, maintenance and development. This year, we will examine Länsimetro Oy’s operations through a sustainability lens and create a sustainability programme that cuts across all of the areas of our company’s operations. The objective is to encapsulate the sustainability aspects of our operations and help us identify improvement areas in metro infrastructure ownership,” says Director of Administration Mari Mannila.