Ontario Transit Group has launched TBMs Libby and Corkie to dig the 6km-long twin tunnels from Exhibition Station towards the Don Yard, up to 40m below the city.
The Ferrovial Construction / Vinci Construction Grands Projets joint venture is delivering the southern civil, stations and tunnel work for Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario.
At the Don Yard, Ontario Line trains will emerge from the tunnels and continue east above ground across the Lower Don Bridge. Once complete, the 15.6km Ontario Line will run from Exhibition Place to the Eglinton Crosstown LRT at Don Mills Road, with 15 stations, and more than 40 transit connections, including to TTC Lines 1, 2 and 5, multiple streetcar and bus routes, and three GO train lines. The line will also bring nearly 230,000 more people within walking distance of transit.
The Canadian government is investing more than C$4bn (€2.5bn) in the Ontario Line, the single largest federal public transit investment in Toronto.
“Today’s start of tunnelling on the Ontario Line is a major milestone for Toronto,” said Evan Soloman, minister of AI and digital innovation and minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for southern Ontario.
“This project will connect communities, cut commute times, reduce congestion, and make everyday life more affordable and efficient for hundreds of thousands of people. Our government is proud to invest more than C$4bn in the Ontario Line as part of the largest public transit investment the federal government has ever made in the Greater Toronto Area. This is what building for the future looks like.”
