HSL will continue the current contract on the procurement of metro services with Helsinki City Transport. The contract will be extended with an additional 7.5 years once the current contract period expires at the end of 2024. HSL and Helsinki City Transport will renew the contract in order to create opportunities for the development of future metro services and to establish a well-functioning rail traffic market.
Helsinki City Transport will procure services connected to the operation, maintenance, property management and further development of the Metro from Metropolitan Area Transport Ltd.
One reason behind the extension of the contract is a project with the purpose of renewing the access control system of the Metro, which will have a significant impact on defining the operating services of metro traffic. There is a need to renew the technology of the metro system during the contract period, which in turn will improve the level of traffic service.
”The goal is to replace the current access control system of the Metro with a cost-effective system that has a higher level of automation. This, together with the procurement of new train fleet, will also enable shorter headways”, says Johanna Wallin, HSL Division Director.
The Metro will need drivers also after the renewal of the access control system.
The goal is to implement the new access control system before the end of the decade
The joint project aiming to renew the access control system is set to launch during 2023 between Helsinki City Transport, HSL, Metropolitan Area Transport Ltd, Länsimetro Oy and the City of Espoo. The goal is to have the new system in use by 2029.
As the project aiming to renew the access control system is currently in its early stages, HSL will not at this stage organize a competitive tendering of metro services.
However, the extension to the contract that is currently in preparation must enable the competitive tendering of metro services during the next contract period. At the earliest, the tendered services could begin in 2032, once the extended contract period ends.
Before making a decision leading to a possible tendering of services, more studies will be made on the suitable procurement model for the next contract and possible structural changes that may be required.
Therefore, the decision that will now be made will not include a decision on the procurement model for the next contract, but HSL will make a decision on said model later.