Tunnelling is underway on the Ontario Line – a 15.6km rapid transit line in Toronto, described as the “largest subway expansion in Canadian history”. Once complete – the project is slated to enter operation by 2031 – the Ontario Line will encompass 15 stations and more than 40 transit connections. It will serve nearly 400,000 trips every day between Exhibition Place and Line 5 Eglinton at Don Mills Road, with over 40 connections to other transit lines along the way.
The scheme is being managed by Infrastructure Ontario and Metrolinx, the transport and transit Crown agency of the Government of Ontario. Its overall cost stands at approximately C$29.5bn (£16bn), according to the latest Metrolinx update.
Two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) named Libby and Corkie after Liberty Village and Corktown, the neighbourhoods marking the start and end of the machines’ journeys, will travel 40m beneath Toronto’s streets for 6km, carving out twin tunnels and connecting six new underground subway stations.
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Belinda Smart
