tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810004648766820675.post381130900371604591..comments2024-03-28T14:10:58.998+00:00Comments on Robert Schwandl's Urban Rail Blog: HELSINKI - Metro, Rail & Tram 2018Robert Schwandlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13156288779783738076noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810004648766820675.post-9479623989599540752021-08-04T15:23:43.467+01:002021-08-04T15:23:43.467+01:00some comments from 2021:
The ticketing system did ...some comments from 2021:<br />The ticketing system did get a zone overhaul and now there are approximately semi circular zones rather than the strict municipal boundaries like before which makes more sense. The zones are quite big so it is not too hard to estimate which ticket you need (since there is no "tap out" you always need to know your start and end zones when buying tickets). Apart from the outermost D zone you must always buy a ticket for two zones (no buying a zone A only ticket) presumably to avoid too much revenue loss when they changed the ticketing zones.<br />Short trains on long platforms: this is especially a problem on the suburban lines where the platforms can take 12 car trains but only a 4 car unit is used. Somehow you are supposed to know which end of the long platform the train will stop. Only the airport station has such markings otherwise you are just supposed to know already! <br />The airport and the steps downstairs (to where?). These steps might lead to a space under the current tracks for a planned long distance train connection - the existing main line currently via tikurilla would be diverted into a tunnel going under the airport and long distance trains stop at the airport itself. It's unclear when/if this line will be built but there was a similar box dug under the Munkkivuori shopping centre for possible metro connection which never came to that part of town (and they dug the box in 1964). Kamppi metro station similarly has space under the current platforms for a possible north/south metro line there.<br />Stations seemingly built in the middle of nowhere like Kivisto and the western metro stations: it's amazing to see the development over the years in Kivisto. When the station was originally built the two exits were in the middle of a wasteland with nearest buildings 200m away. Now there are dozens of apartment buildings 8 floors high in all directions. You have to wonder where all these people come from because the population of Finland as a whole doesn't grow that much. <br />Tapiola metro station and the walk through the car park: because of development above, the southern exit of the station opened about 2 years after the northern end, so part of a car park was used as a walkway from the north back to the shopping mall in the south. Understanding the route was not easy because the new shopping mall had levels marked M/1/2 but for the first few years the metro connection was not at the level called "M". It seems that finns have some difficulty with signage, especially if letters are involved. Eventually you could get to the metro from the M level and the trip through the car park is no longer needed. Rikuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15507744235195983796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810004648766820675.post-43972643654307410342021-06-07T13:31:49.625+01:002021-06-07T13:31:49.625+01:00Good article and right to the point. I don't k...Good article and right to the point. I don't know if this is in fact the best place to ask but do you guys have any thoughts on where to hire some professional writers? Thank you :) <b><a href="https://gdecking.com/our-products/g-deck-dual/" rel="nofollow">fall protection equipment</a></b><br />RichardTweedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06460319152096331823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810004648766820675.post-6133850361058138042018-10-13T08:00:30.253+01:002018-10-13T08:00:30.253+01:00It was indeed orange, as was first mentioned. Here...It was indeed orange, as was first mentioned. Here is an old image displaying the old prange symbol http://kuvat.vaunut.org/63d7b85cab545c7e5f14e2a051b8f528.jpgAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810004648766820675.post-31738250788556892162018-09-11T20:30:03.061+01:002018-09-11T20:30:03.061+01:00M-train coloring was yellow, not orangeM-train coloring was yellow, not orangeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810004648766820675.post-37587914174513535502018-09-11T19:47:00.160+01:002018-09-11T19:47:00.160+01:00IIRC the reason for naming ring rail trains I and ...IIRC the reason for naming ring rail trains I and P is that before the opening I trains ran between Helsinki and Tikkurila during rush hours and a long, long time ago P trains ran between Helsinki and Hiekkaharju. So HSL decided to use these letters for "historic" reasons. They also wanted to get rid of M-train because tourists confused it as the actual metro. (M-train also conveniently had an orange backdrop and coloring)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810004648766820675.post-50971249478774331532018-05-24T19:11:18.424+01:002018-05-24T19:11:18.424+01:00About the tram - there are some street level board...About the tram - there are some street level boarding stops for example along Bulevardi although I think the tram runs close enough to parked cars that you don't risk being run over by passing cars when you step out of the tram.<br />The semi-circular zone system is coming soon, actually even last summer the tram stops had the new zone letters marked on them even though the new zones are not yet implemented (this forward planning is often a bit too enthusiastic, with bus stops updated with the new bus route numbers to match the metro extension but when it was delayed two years they did not put the old route numbers back in place. so for two years the bus stops showed bus routes that did not exist .. the excuse when questioned was that they had thrown away the old signs when they were taken down during the summer the metro extension was originally supposed to open)<br />As for the short metro trains on the new extension there has recently been some reversal of the policy of cancelling all busses from espoo into the city centre and now some busses will be re-introduced instead of forcing commuters to take a bus to the metro station and then continue into the city centre by metro only. <br />Richard Bevannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810004648766820675.post-76383728347600573292018-05-23T14:37:09.350+01:002018-05-23T14:37:09.350+01:00The Paris RER is probably the worst example for a ...The Paris RER is probably the worst example for a well-designed metro-style suburban service! Its operating and stopping pattern is so complex they don't even try to show it on any map! The 4-letter train codes may be useful for the regular users, but not for occasional travellers. Good point about Berlin's U2 station Mohrenstraße, but fortunately noone has ever come up with such an idea. Here the question would rather be, shouldn't some stations be closed completely as the distance to the next station is too short, but that's another story... Robert Schwandlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13156288779783738076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810004648766820675.post-68043916675137583482018-05-23T12:40:53.314+01:002018-05-23T12:40:53.314+01:00Paris RER service has train lines which skip sever...Paris RER service has train lines which skip several stations too, same for Long Island Railroad in NY state. This is not unusual. Stations with lower patronage should see lower train service too. (Some stations on Berlin's U2 like Mohrenstr. should be closed during late evenings due to low patronage too.) I see no reason for confusion either, most trips go into central Helsinki in the morning anyway, so the argument about taking the car instead doesn't hold (and parking in central Helsinki is expensive). Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12616328002151039080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810004648766820675.post-74749565065516532152018-05-17T18:25:55.818+01:002018-05-17T18:25:55.818+01:00The train services are branded with letters simply...The train services are branded with letters simply to avoid confusion with bus and tram lines that have numbers. They once had a tiny bit of logic to them, e.g. R for Riihimäki, M for Martinlaakso, K for Kerava, E for Espoo, A for Alberga (Swedish name of Leppävaara). But those days are long gone, and new letters seem to only be added on the basis of what letter is free.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07415768071643367518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810004648766820675.post-22655467311570047642018-05-17T18:10:02.801+01:002018-05-17T18:10:02.801+01:00Hello,
A good few eastern metro stations on the s...Hello,<br /><br />A good few eastern metro stations on the surface section have received considerable facelifts since 2013, notably Siilitie and Myllypuro. The Project is gradually extending to other stations, but I suppose Rautatientori will be the last one to receive a facelift as it's by far the busiest station on the old section. But regarding that, the new exit signs at metro stations mark each exit with a letter, and the letters extend at least as far as S at Rautatientori. That has caused confusion among locals much more than the train services ever have.<br /><br />Regarding länsimetro, there are actually massive plans for the area around Koivusaari stations, with the motorway (or "city boulevard", if the mayor could decide) lowered into a tunnel and significant residential blocks built on top, partly on reclaimed land.<br /><br />The tunneling work at the Kivenlahti extension is almost finished, but the line itself is further delayed and will not open before 2023. At Espoonlahti, the entrance is to be inside the Lippulaiva shopping centre, so that partially explains the lack of visible construction sites there. You may have noticed, we really like attaching our metro stations to shopping centres. Even the rather barren Munkkivuori shopping centre just south of Huopalahti train station has an entrance to a metro that was never built.<br /><br /><br />Regarding Vehkala station, it was only supposed to be built as part of a second phase (scheduled to be built in the unforeseeable future). However, leaks of de-icing fluids in the tunnel beneath the airport forced a one year delay, and so the station was added with future office space in mind. The second phase would also add stations at Petas, Lapinkylä, Viinikkala and Ruskeasanta. Petas station would form an important connection if plans to expand the S-bahn Network northbound to Klaukkala ever go ahead. Ruskeasanta station was scrapped from the original plan due to local opposition, so it is unlikely to ever be included in the system.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07415768071643367518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810004648766820675.post-47605084106366498872018-05-17T10:40:35.954+01:002018-05-17T10:40:35.954+01:00The airport train line letters I and P doesn't...The airport train line letters I and P doesn't mean anything to locals either.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com