Tunnelling starting for Ontario Line subway

Tunnel boring machines, Libby and Corkie, start six-kilometre journey beneath downtown Toronto. 

April 20 – For the first time in more than 60 years, a new subway will be tunnelled under downtown Toronto.  

Two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) — known as Libby and Corkie — will travel roughly 40 metres beneath Toronto’s streets for about six kilometres, carving out twin tunnels and connecting six new underground subway stations.  

The TBMs are aptly named after Liberty Village and Corktown, the neighbourhoods marking the start and end of the machines' journeys. 

Libby will start tunnelling first, followed by Corkie, running from the launch shaft just east of Exhibition Station to west of the Don River.  

Libby and Corkie will break through underground station caverns for six new Ontario Line stations at King and Bathurst, Queen and Spadina, Osgoode, Queen, Moss Park and in Corktown. These sites will bring more subway service to downtown Toronto and introduce seamless connections to existing TTC Line 1 stations at Osgoode and Queen.  

After tunnelling, the launch shaft east of Exhibition Station will be converted to a tunnel portal where Ontario Line trains will move between above- and below-ground tracks. A similar portal is taking shape in the Don Yard, where Libby and Corkie will finish their journeys.  

The downtown area is the first of two tunnelled Ontario Line sections. The second set of tunnels will run largely below Pape Avenue, starting just north of Gerrard Station and ending where Minton Place meets the Don Valley Parkway. Work started last summer on the second tunnel launch shaft for the line, situated at Gerrard and Carlaw. 

Teams are also making progress with excavation for new subway stations through the downtown segment of the project. Stations are now fully excavated at King and Bathurst, Moss Park and in Corktown and will be complete at Queen and Spadina in the near future.    

Three of these station sites have also been renamed to better identify the major neighbourhoods they will serve: King-Bathurst is now King West Station, Queen-Spadina is now Chinatown Station, and Corktown is now Distillery District Station. In addition, Riverside-Leslieville is now Leslieville Station.  

Once complete, the Ontario Line 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. 

For more information on Ontario Line construction and tunnelling, please visit metrolinx.com/OntarioLine. 

For accredited journalists, you can contact our media team at mediarelations@metrolinx.com.  

For customers, please visit Metrolinx – Contact Us to contact the Community Engagement team.