KONE Corporation, press release, May 25, 2012
KONE has won an order to supply elevators and escalators to the West Metro project, Finland's largest ongoing infrastructure project. Helsinki's current metro line will be extended 14 kilometres to the west of the terminus station to Espoo.
A total of 60 KONE TransitMaster® 140 heavy-duty escalators, 33 KONE MonoSpace® Special elevators and eight inclined elevators will be installed at seven new metro stations in Helsinki and Espoo. All spaces and levels in the stations have been designed to be as accessible and easy-to-use as possible and KONE's solutions will make People Flow smooth and safe for passengers.
Each station - handling between 10,000 and 30,000 passengers daily - has unique People Flow® requirements. For example, the vicinity of the Urheilupuisto station in Espoo has several sporting facilities including an arena that can host up to 9,000 spectators. The Urheilupuisto station must be able to smoothly handle thousands of people entering and exiting the platform and station hall at peak times. In addition, two of the stations act as local traffic hubs connecting thousands to an adjacent bus station and shopping center.
"The objective of the West Metro project is to produce a presentable, modern and sustainable metro system of high quality allowing passengers to enjoy the benefits of a fast form of public transport, safely and flexibly. KONE's elevators and escalators will be an integral part of meeting our objective," says Matti Kokkinen, Managing Director of Länsimetro Oy.
"We are proud to continue to be involved in another demanding public transport project and to enable the smooth and safe People Flow of the residents of the Helsinki metropolitan area," says Ari Lehtoranta, EVP and Area Director of KONE Central and North Europe.
The order was booked in the second quarter of 2012. The first equipment will be installed in 2014 and the West Metro is expected to open for traffic at the end of 2015. KONE will also provide KONE Care® Premium maintenance for 10 years.
For further information, please contact:
Anne Korkiakoski, EVP, Marketing & Communications, KONE Corporation, tel. +358 204 75 4330
Images: renderings of the stations can be downloaded from www.flickr.com/lansimetro (http://www.flickr.com/lansimetro)
About KONE
KONE is one of the global leaders in the elevator and escalator industry. The company has been committed to understanding the needs of its customers for the past century, providing industry-leading elevators, escalators and automatic building doors as well as innovative solutions for modernization and maintenance. The company's objective is to offer the best People Flow® experience by developing and delivering solutions that enable people to move smoothly, safely, comfortably and without waiting in buildings in an increasingly urbanizing environment. In 2011, KONE had annual net sales of EUR 5.2 billion and on average 35,000 employees. KONE class B shares are listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd in Finland.
www.kone.com (http://www.kone.com)
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Source: KONE Oyj via Thomson Reuters ONE
