Ontario Construction News staff writer
Metrolinx is calling on the public to help name the twin tunnel boring machines (TBMs) that will soon begin carving out the southern section of the Ontario Line subway tunnels. These underground titans are prepping to dig more than six kilometres of twin tunnels from just east of Exhibition Station to just west of the Don River.
Before they start their slow, steady underground journey, they need the right names to carry them through.
In June, Metrolinx launched a public call for name ideas, and five pairs have made the final cut.
Here are the finalists:
- Titan and Terra – The word ‘Titan’ represents strength and power, while ‘Terra’ means earth in Latin.
- Queenie and Corky – Corky: a play-on word of Corktown Station, located in the Corktown neighborhood for which the TBM will travel through. Queenie: a play-on word of Queen Street, for which the TBM will primarily tunnel under. Also, a throwback to renowned Canadian author Alice Munro’s short story “Queenie” on a story about spending a summer in Toronto, one of the greatest cities in the world!
- Libby and Corkie – Libby for Liberty Village where the downtown tunneled portion of the line will start and Corkie for Corktown where the downtown tunneled portion will end.
- Lucie and Thornton – Lucie and Thornton Blackburn escaped to Canada through the Underground Railroad in 1833 to settle in the Corktown neighbourhood, where they would later emerge as prominent figures in the history of Toronto. In addition to contributing significantly to Toronto’s role in the Underground Railroad, the Blackburns established the city’s first taxi cab service, painted in iconic red and yellow colours later adopted by the TTC.
- Chipper and Chewie – One happily chips away at the bedrock and the other chews through the earth.
Voting is open until July 28, and the winning pair will not only get their names etched into tunnelling history — the person who submitted the chosen names will also score a front-row photo op with the mighty machines before they launch.
The TBMs will enter the ground through a 16-metre-deep shaft near Exhibition Station that crews began excavating last November. These machines will form the backbone of the downtown leg of the 15-station Ontario Line, a brand-new subway route expected to cut cross-city commutes in half.
Visit Metrolinx’s Ontario Line website to cast your vote and leave your mark on the future of Toronto transit.