Metro Man Janne Siirilä

Janne Siirilä, a project manager for metro projects in Welado, enjoys cycling, hanging out in depots, and being enthralled in metro stations in big cities. A self-confessed metro man, he has drifted into the industry and found the end of his career dreams in projects in the underground world.

"Working on metro projects has opened doors to interesting places, such as visits to the control room of an internal train at Chicago airport, the depot and cab of the New York subway, and the subway control rooms of Bilbao and Paris. Even on holiday, you can't miss a chance to try out the local subway. There's something remarkable about a country boy like me getting to work on the arteries of cities teeming with human literature. If you think about the kind of photograph that makes Helsinki internationally recognisable, it's the Cathedral and our orange metro. It's great to be able to say that I've been involved in one of them," says Janne.

What kind of career path has led you to become an expert on metro projects?

At the start of the millennium, I was working on power distribution projects at Siemens when the Rail Transport Department offered me a role on the Oulu-Tornio line interlocking project. From there, I transitioned into system testing and SIT tests to ensure that the system is working as intended . These projects exposed me to the contrasting extremes of northern Finland—enjoying warm summer days with barbecue lunches, and braving the cold, dark winters on the tracks. Snow was abundant, and we often had to use snowmobiles to reach and test the signals.

In 2007, I joined HKL (now Kaupunkiliikenne), where I worked as a project engineer on the automatic metro project in the fields of interlocking, ATC and platform doors. Metro automation project was discontinued in 2015. The scope of supply of the terminated project included the traffic control system for the then future Länsimetro, which HKL had to re-tender due to the suspension. In the Länsimetro Phase 1 project, I was the project manager of the customer for the interlocking and traffic control system. When Länsimetro was completed, I joined Mipro in 2017.

Mipro is a company specializing in railway traffic management and safety systems, where I worked briefly in product development before moving to become an account manager for metro accounts. This role allowed me to expand my knowledge in sales. In addition to sales, I was able to maintain and develop my technical and project management skills, for example by support and lead project managers and lead designers on metro projects.

At Welado, I am now involved in the METKA project (Metro Capacity Project for the Metropolitan Region), which aims to shorten the frequency of metro services by increasing the level of automation and thus increase the capacity of the metro.

How did your expertise come about?

Metro-specific training and education are quite limited in Finland, but the experience of working on state railway projects gave me a good grounding for metro. Most of my knowledge has been acquired in the traditional way, by heart and by listening to more experienced experts. My technical background helps, of course, and I graduated as an electrical and automation engineer in 2001. While working, I completed my studies for sales and project management (MSc). My studies provided a solid theoretical foundation and enhanced my skills, leading to my graduation in 2023.

What services do you offer to Welado metro customers?

As a consultant, I am able to combine the experience I have gained throughout my career and in particular from my perspective on both the client and the supplier side. I have a good understanding of the thinking, challenges and needs of both. I continue to work with people and projects I was familiar with already, so the change in my daily routine has not been too big.

Sales work is a nice addition to my work as a metro specialist. I offer my expertise and that of other Weladoans in project management, traffic management systems and interlocking systems for metro projects. At Welado, I am also able to offer clients expertise in areas I by myself do not have, such as environmental expertise, measurement expertise and systems assurance.

I have the support of over 300 Finnish and Swedish experts across various fields. For example, recently I was consulted by our environmental specialist. It was truly inspiring to listen to Pinja Kasvio—within just a few minutes, she had at least doubled my understanding of environmental considerations in projects.

What made you decide to work for Welado?

I've always worked for the same employer for a long time, and I was happy at Mipro too. I started as a Welado employee in May 2024, when Jyrki Kataja just happened to call at the right moment to tell me about the situation in Welado regarding metro opportunities. Curiosity about the consultant role won out, and of course one of the factors that tipped the scales was my perception of Welado as an open, reliable and approachable employer.

How does Welado as a platform support expertise that is relevant to you?

In just a few days, I was part of the METKA project, where I get to do what I love and what I can do. The project also provides a good challenge, which keeps you in a good frame of mind. Younger experts are also joining the METKA team, and I can now share my expertise with them.

Why is Welado a good partner for metro projects?

We have the right experts with diverse skills in technical fields, project management, procurement, measurement and environmental matters—whether it's for rail, tram or metro projects. With this team, we have everything needed to deliver projects that are consistently seamless for our customers.

How does a metro man relax?

I am a mountain biking enthusiast. In addition to commuting, I have become familiar with Helsinki's great cycling routes, such as the Central Park mountain bike trail, the seaside paths and the cliffs. If I'm not in the saddle, I am pounding bass with my band Primal Maze.