HSL will introduce changes to certain routes in an effort to cut operating costs in the downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
On Monday, August 10, public transport services will switch to winter timetables. At the same time, HSL will introduce changes to certain routes in an effort to adjust operating costs due to the financial situation brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
Most changes will occur on bus routes, but train and metro services will also be optimized.
The peak time bus route 67V connecting the Central Railway Station and Torpparinmäki will be withdrawn, as it has had low passenger numbers. The withdrawn route will be replaced by route 67.
Also withdrawn from August 10 onwards will be route 39B connecting Kamppi with Munkkiniemi and Konala. The service will be transferred to route 39. Bus stops on Hankasuontie in Konala will no longer be served, but buses running along Vihdintie are expected to replace the discontinued service.
Changes to bus routes will occur in the Lautasaari area in Helsinki, where the bus network will comprise three routes: 21, 22 and 22B. All routes will operate via Lautasaari Metro Station. A direct bus will connect Lautasaari with Kamppi, and the new 22B route will run between the metro station and Katajaharju. Additionally, night bus 20N will be renamed 21N and slightly rerouted.
Bus services 238 and 244K will be withdrawn and replaced with route 244. This means the southwest area of Heinäs will no longer have a public transport service; the closest stops served by route 244 will be about 1km walk away.
Weekend service on route 104 will also be withdrawn due to low passenger numbers, as well as peak time route 739V, which connected the Central Railway Station with Nikinmäki and Pohjois Nikinmäki. Weekend service on routes 172 (Matinkylä – Kirkkonummi – Kantvik) and 911 (Kauklahti – Masala – Kirkkonummi) will be withdrawn as well. Route 172 will be replaced on weekends by route 173, and route 911, which has had low passenger numbers, will be replaced by trains and routes 171 and 173.
New bus routes
However, it is not all withdrawals. A new bus route 200 will run from Elielinaukio via Pitäjänmäki, Leppävaara, Karakallio and Jorvi to Espoonkeskus. It will be based on route 235 but with 10 fewer stops in the direction of Espoo and 12 fewer stops towards Helsinki.
The neighborhood route 811 will no longer serve the section from Mellunmäki via Länsimäki to Rajakylä but run from Kivikko via Kontula to Mellunmäki. Routes 811B and 811K will be withdrawn due to low demand.
Changes will occur to transport services in Tuusula. The Rykmentinpuisto area will be served by routes 963 and 971. New bus stop shelters, equipped with up-to-date timetables, will be built there. Route 963 will run from Kerava via Rykmentinpuisto and Hyrylä to Paijala. Consequently, route 964B (Hyrylä – Paijala) will be withdrawn. Route 971 will be rerouted via Rykmentinpuisto.
Changes to train and metro services
Changes will also affect train services. U trains to Siuntio will be renamed X trains. There will be changes to commuter trains headways on the Main Line and the Ring Rail Line on weekday and Saturday evenings. VR commuter trains (i.e., R, D, T, Z) are to go back to normal headways from August 10, once the bridge work underway in Pukinmäki is completed. P and I trains will run every 15 instead of every 10 minutes.
Metro services will likewise experience changes. At peak times, services on both sections of the line will start running at five-minute headways, and frequent service will operate longer than before both before and after rush hours, up to an hour longer. The purpose of these changes is to allow more space for passengers. Koivusaari Metro Station, which has been closed in the summer, will reopen on August 6.
