West Metro opening attracts 220,000 passengers

The opening of the new West Metro service between Helsinki and Espoo was lively throughout the first day, said the Helsinki Regional Transport Authority-HSL.

According to HSL estimation, about 220,000 passengers used the metro services on Saturday. The figure is higher than the normal passenger figure on an ordinary Saturday.

Despite the lively day, the trains were on schedule. However, at around 5:30 pm on Saturday, the metro traffic was interrupted for about half an hour between Itäkeskus and Vuosaari after some glitches were discovered in a number of trains. The traffic resumed normalcy after the faulty trains were lifted off the track.

The busiest station on the day was Matinkylä where a steady flow of passengers was witnessed between the platform and the shopping centre.

The new metro section will bring an additional 45,000 passengers a day. According to HSL preliminary evaluation, the number of passengers on a normal Saturday is expected to be around 180,000.