Finland's biggest daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat spoke with local Espoo politician Kurt Byman about the reasons behind the ongoing delays of opening the western extension of Helsinki's Metro, Länsimetro, which was scheduled to be operational in the summer.
Byman told the paper that besides the third rail installation error, another reason was due to leftover rock dust in the tunnel which caused technical issues.
The dust in the tunnels reportedly had clogged trains' filter systems and sensors, a situation which could have damaged the trains had they not been removed from the tunnels.
Byman, who serves as an independent in the Finns Party's Espoo city council group - and an opponent of the Metro extension project - told the paper that the third rail mistake was due to the company in charge of the project, Länsimetro's desire to save money.
Byman: "No one knew how" to install third rails
"The supplier wanted to install the rails. But Länsimetro wanted to save money and install the rails themselves. No one knew how and it didn't take long before the track tore apart the part on the train that it gets its power from," Byman told Yle Nyheter's Helsinki bureau.
He said that he has discussed the issue with experts both in Finland and abroad.
Until Byman spoke to the media about the reasons for the delays, Länsimetro has stated the delay was due to a drawn-out delivery time of required smoke duct equipment from a supplier.
Byman told Yle Nyheter that the reason why the delays were not announced earlier was due to non-disclosure agreements.
"There has been a non-disclosure agreement during the whole time of the construction project," Byman said. "Now everyone is unhappy, both those people who have been waiting for the extension to open and those who have been against it."
Also, because Länsimetro doesn't operate under the auspices of the cities of Helsinki or Espoo, it is not required to disclose information to the public, the paper writes.
28 kilometres of track incorrectly installed
The private Stockholm-based engineering consulting firm Sweco is also involved in the project but has refused to comment on it.
There are some 28 kilometres of the third rail tracks on the western extension.
Länsimetro used tracks made of aluminium which were delivered in lengths of several metres and put together during installation of the other tracks. But they were reportedly installed incorrectly - with discrepancies in the height of the tracks.
Workers using grinding tools have reportedly levelled out the tracks - which require exact measurements down to the millimetre - but whether this solves the problem won't be known until later this week when trains are scheduled to be tested on the tracks at speeds of 80 kilometres per hour.
Länsimetro's CEO Matti Kokkinen told Helsingin Sanomat that everything should be in order, and that the issue would be clarified following the tests.
According to the paper the Metro's western extension would be delayed by at least one year if replacing the third rails outright is necessary.
However Byman's prognosis is bleaker.
"I'd bet on 2019, but at the earliest at the end of next year," Byman said.
