TORONTO – The first two Ontario Line tunnel boring machines (TBMs) now have their own identities.
Libby and Corkie beat Titan and Terra, Queenie and Corky, Lucie and Thornton, and Chipper and Chewie in the Metrolinx naming contest that saw more than 900 names submitted and 1,000 votes cast for the winning duo.
The names were submitted by Jason Paris who drew inspiration from two of the communities the Ontario Line will serve: “Libby” for Liberty Village where the downtown tunnelled portion of the line will start, and “Corkie” for Corktown where the downtown tunnelled portion will end, explains a release.
In preparation for the arrival of these mighty machines, Metrolinx broke ground last November on the 16-metre-deep shaft that will become the starting point for the TBMs.
From there they will dig a roughly six-kilometre pair of tunnels underground starting just east of Exhibition Station to just west of the Don River.
With excavation now complete at the tunnel launch shaft, Libby and Corkie are expected to start their journey in 2026, the release adds. Meanwhile, crews recently broke ground on the second tunnel launch shaft at Gerrard.
Once complete, the Ontario Line will have 15 new stations, with a trip from one end to the other taking less than 30 minutes, states Metrolinx.
