Espoonlahti metro station. Photo: JIP / Wikipedia Commons
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Metro services in western Espoo remain disrupted on Monday following a rare lightning-induced equipment failure. Helsinki Region Transport (HSL) confirmed that Kivenlahti, Espoonlahti, and Soukka stations remain closed after a thunderstorm damaged critical components of the train control system.
Service is currently operating only as far west as Kaitaa station. Replacement bus routes 544 and 510 continue to serve the closed stations, with additional connections available via HSL’s route planner.
The disruption began on Sunday when lightning struck between Kivenlahti and Soukka, damaging the interlocking system that ensures safe metro operations. According to HSL, repairs are in progress but more extensive than initially expected.
Juhana Hietaranta, safety director at Helsinki City Transport, said the lightning strike affected a wide range of components across the rail line and equipment rooms.
“When voltage from a lightning strike reaches the wrong part of the system, components simply fail,” he said. “This level of impact is rare.”
Typically, thunderstorms cause minor, quickly repairable issues, but this incident has proven more severe. Hietaranta described the situation as unusually widespread and prolonged.
The interlocking system, which includes equipment both on the track and in dedicated control facilities, was hit in multiple locations. Engineers are currently working to restore at least one track section to allow limited metro service to Kivenlahti.
“There is no confirmed estimate yet for the completion of all repairs,” said Hietaranta.
HSL had originally estimated that full service would resume by Sunday evening. The current expectation is for service to be partially restored by late Monday, with full functionality possible by Tuesday.
Once the immediate repairs are completed, Hietaranta said the focus will shift to examining how similar damage might be prevented in the future. He noted that while protective measures exist, the sensitive nature of metro technology makes it vulnerable to strong natural forces.
Weather-related disruptions are not uncommon in metro systems, but full system failures of this scale are rare. This storm’s intensity and the specific components affected have extended repair times.
HSL continues to advise passengers to use alternative transport options and check updates through the route planner by deselecting the metro in search settings.
HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
