Espoo City Council approves Metro extension

The Espoo City Council voted on Monday evening to approve the extension of the Helsinki Metro westward into Espoo. After some debate, the vote in favour of the project was 56 to 9, with one abstention.
      The decision means that the ground can be broken for the construction of western extension in late 2009. The Metro itself should be operational in Espoo in 2013.
     
Opponents of the Metro did all they could to prevent a vote in favour of the project.
      For instance, Kati Pohjanmaa of the National Coalition Party proposed rejecting the project, and Heidi Mikkola, an independent, put forward a motion to return the matter for further preparation.
      “I came once again to speak in favour of a light rail network, although I know that it is all the same, what we say here”, noted Kirsi Aropaltio (Green).
      Kurt Byman got a few laughs when he showed underground rail maps of different metropolises, which made the Helsinki Metro look rather lame by comparison. “The economy of Espoo will collapse, and municipal taxes cannot be raised, because if they are, the rich will move to Kirkkonummi”, he said.
     
In September 2006 the City Council chose the Metro as the future key mode of public transport in the south of Espoo. Some of the members of the council wondered why there was any debate on the matter any more, since the Metro had already been chosen.
      Hopefully after this there will be no more discussion on whether or not the Metro will be built.
      Since the previous Metro decision, the City Council has approved the overall zoning plan for the south of Espoo, which includes the Metro, and which anticipates 70,000 more residents for the area by 2030. “It’s not really feasible to load such a large number of people onto buses”, said Susanna Rahkonen (SDP).
     
Under the plan, the metro will run below ground from Ruoholahti, which is currently the western end of the line, all the way to Matinkylä in Espoo.
      The cost of the extension is estimated at EUR 715 million. Espoo will pay for nearly half of it, the state will put in just over EUR 214 - the 30% that Espoo demanded, and the City of Helsinki will pay the rest.
      Many council members were angered that the original cost estimate of EUR 452 million had risen to EUR 714 million.
      “If it were to happen in the world of business that a third of the cost of a large project would have been left out in the first estimate, the board of directors would have been changed. But this is politics”, said Carl Haglund (Swed. People’s Party).
      “There are no alternatives to the Metro, no matter what the cost”, responded Ulf Johansson (Swed. People’s Party).
     
It was proposed to the council that Espoo should take a 30-year loan with annual servicing costs of EUR 23 million.
      The end of the direct bus lines to the Kamppi terminal in Helsinki will bring savings. However, the Metro will raise Espoo’s public transport costs by more than EUR 17 million.
      Olavi Louko, head of technical services for the City of Espoo, has calculated that the costs could be covered through revenue from land use, in the sale of real estate near the Metro stations.
      For instance, to cover the costs, it would be necessary to sell 17,600 square metres at a price of EUR 1,000 per square metre.
      “Now we sell much more land than that. I believe that we will be in the black”, Louko said.
      Similar views were expressed by Pirjo Kemppi-Virtanen (Nat. Coalition Party), who nevertheless insisted that the zoning of high-proced land should not be allowed to spoil the characteristic landscapes of Otaniemi and Tapiola.
     
A total of seven stations are planned for the route of more than 13 kilometres: in Lauttasaari and Koivusaari in Helsinki, and in Keilaniemi, Otaniemi, Tapiola, Joutsenpuisto, and Matinkylä in Espoo.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Despite extension of Helsinki Metro, Espoo traffic is likely to increase by 20 per cent by 2015 (28.2.2008)
  Espoo extension of Helsinki Metro could still hinge on state subsidy (18.2.2008)
  Solitary Espoo drivers keep Länsiväylä motorway congested (27.8.2007)
  Ministry makes downward adjustment to budget of planned Espoo extension of Helsinki Metro (4.3.2008)