12/11/2010 10:18:10 AM

December 10, 2010

Winning names announced for Toronto - York Spadina Subway Extension tunnel boring machines

Holey and Moley, and Yorkie and Torkie are the official names of the four tunnel boring machines (TBMs) that will bore and build the tunnels for the Toronto - York Spadina Subway Extension (TYSSE).

Congratulations to Rosa Rinella from the City of Vaughan who submitted Yorkie and Torkie, and Thomas Cohen from Toronto, who submitted Holey and Moley.

In September of this year, the TYSSE project ran a contest inviting the public to suggest names for the two pairs of TBMs. Each entry consisted of a pair of names. A judging panel selected the top 10 pairs from a total of 720 entries. The public was then invited to vote online for the two winning entries. More than 2,000 votes were cast.

It is a tradition to name TBMs that are manufactured for specific projects. These four large, powerful, machines will work in pairs below the ground to excavate through the soil and rock and build the tunnels.

The TYSSE project is an 8.6 kilometre extension of the existing Yonge-University-Spadina Subway line from Downsview Station to the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre near Highway 7 and Jane Street in York Region. It will have six stations and, for the first time, extend the existing Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) subway system across regional boundaries between the City of Toronto and The Regional Municipality of York.

The TYSSE project is jointly funded by the Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario, the City of Toronto and The Regional Municipality of York. The estimated total project cost is $2.6 billion. When completed, the TTC will operate and maintain the subway extension. Expected project completion is 2015.