The Junatien metro bridge will be renovated in the coming years due to damage, which will cause a suspension of metro service between the city center and East Helsinki.
Reports by Kaupunkiliikenne Oy and technical experts from the City of Helsinki’s Urban Environment Division reveal that the Junatie metro bridge must be replaced due to the damage it has sustained. Following this renovation, the Kulosaari street bridge will be next in line for replacement.
Ville Lehmuskoski, Director of the City of Helsinki’s Urban Environment Division, states in a City of Helsinki press releasethat the bridge repairs will be carried out in a controlled manner to keep the metro service disruption as short as possible.
However, the repair work will inevitably cause changes to traffic and significantly affect passengers traveling between East Helsinki and Hakaniemi. The metro service interruption is scheduled to take place from late spring 2027 through the end of that year.
Replacement service on the route
Replacement service will be provided during the metro service interruption, when metro trains will not run at the Hakaniemi, Sörnäinen, Kalasatama, Kulosaari, and Herttoniemi stations. Replacement bus line 99 will run along the closed section between Herttoniemi and Hakaniemi at intervals of up to two minutes, HSL reports. The bus will stop only at Kulosaari and Suvilahti along the route.
As things stand, other bus services between Herttoniemi and Pasila, as well as between East Helsinki and the main rail line, will also be increased. Currently, bus routes 59, 500, and 510 run from Kalasatama to East Helsinki and West Pasila. These connections will be strengthened as a result of the service changes.
The goal is also to replace the missing service with the upcoming tram connection from Laajasalo to the city center. Line 13 runs from Nihdi to Pasila, and Route 12 is planned to run from Yliskylä to Hakaniemi. A separate decision will be made regarding whether the tram lines will extend all the way to the city center at that time.
Tram Line 13, which runs from Nihdi via Hermannin rantatie and Vallilanlaakso to Länsi-Pasila, has been in service since August 2024. The tram is part of Kalasatama to Pasila project, which emphasizes sustainable modes of transportation and efficient connections.
The renovation of the Metro Bridge will continue until 2028. Updates on metro service disruptions can be found at subscribe to the newsletter.