Ontario Line tunnelling machine reaches its first station

The Government of Ontario said Libby, a tunnel boring machine, has broken through to the future King West Station on the Ontario Line subway after tunnelling about 1.3 kilometres. It is the first time a machine has reached a station on the new line.

Metrolinx, the provincial agency that builds regional transit, said Libby and a second machine, Corkie, will dig twin tunnels about six kilometres long, roughly 40 metres down. It called the project the first new subway tunnelled under downtown Toronto in more than 60 years. The machines are named for Liberty Village and Corktown, where their journeys start and end.

King West Station, at King Street West and Bathurst Street, is projected to put 27,000 people and 24,200 jobs within walking distance of rapid transit. Across the whole line, the province projects that nearly 390,000 daily boardings will be made once it is finished. Ottawa is paying part of the cost: the Government of Canada said it is investing more than $4 billion in the line, the largest federal transit investment in Toronto.

Next, Libby will be tested and serviced, then continue toward the future Chinatown Station.

Sources: Government of Ontario · Government of Canada · Metrolinx