NIB-financed Helsinki–Espoo metro line launched in Finland

First metro train departure from Matinkylä, the westernmost station in Espoo. Photo: Vesa Moilanen

On 18 November, the Helsinki city transport operator HKL launched the West Metro, a 14-kilomtre extension of Helsinki metro line into the neighbouring city of Espoo. The project has been financed with a 30-year-maturity loan of EUR 120 million that NIB provided to the construction company Länsimetro.

The metro line extension has eight stations and is built underground for its entire length. It now connects the southern parts of Espoo with the regional rail transport system. It is estimated that some 50,000 passengers will use the metro to commute between Helsinki and Espoo every day.Map of the extended metro line connecting the two cities. Image: Länsimetro

Thanks to transferring the commuters from road to rail and reducing the bus traffic between the cities on the Western Motorway, the metro line is expected to help cut the emission of carbon dioxide in this transport corridor by some 40%, to 6,800 tonnes a year.

NIB has further committed a EUR 150 million loan to Länsimetro for building five more stations in Espoo.