Helsinki City Transport wants to see trains running on the tracks of the western Metro extension no later than by autumn 2016. The Siemens company that is responsible for project automation now says the system will not be ready until November 2017.
The announcement by Siemens was first reported on Wednesday by the newspaper Helsingin Uutiset.
According to the original timetable, the launch of services on the extension is already 44 months late. If the November 2017 date indicated by Siemens sees the start of traffic on the new line, it will be two years behind a revised scheduled agreed to by the company.
An automation project for the existing Metro system is even further, 61 months, behind original schedule. Siemens' automation of the Helsinki Metro has been slowed down by delays in the modification of older trains, which is reportedly only half complete at present. Additionally, almost all of the needed automatic doors at station platforms have still to be constructed.