TBM ‘Moley’ completes the southern portion of Toronto’s new subway tunnels

torkie tunnle borer

In late September 2012, the tunnel boring machine (TBM) “Moley” began its second tunnelling drive from the launch shaft at the Sheppard West Station site and headed southbound toward the Downsview Subway Station. Moley completed the milestone of breaking through at the extraction shaft located at W.R. Allen Road and Sheppard Avenue West on March 5, after tunnelling 1.2 km in its final drive and placing 799 tunnel liners along the way.

TBMs

This marks the completion of the southern tunnels for the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension (TYSSE) Project. The removal of Moley from the extraction shaft began the week of March 11 and is anticipated to take approximately six weeks to complete. The extraction shaft will then be converted to a drop shaft to facilitate track, systems and equipment to be lowered to track level.

For more information, visit York University’s Subway Construction web page. For specific Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension (TYSSE) construction information, contact the construction information line at 1-800-223-6192 or e-mail TYSSE@ttc.ca. For hearing impaired service, contact TTY Service at 416-481-2523 (daily, from 8am to 6pm; closed holidays).