Voting is now open to name the Ontario Line tunnel boring machines (TBMs).
Last month, Metrolinx invited the community to submit potential names for the twin TBMs.
After receiving an influx of creative submissions, the following names have been shortlisted for their high scores across four different categories: tunnelling/topic relevance, historical and/or geographic relevance, creativity and ease of reference.
The finalists are:
- Titan and Terra: The word ‘Titan’ represents strength and power, while ‘Terra’ means earth in Latin.
- Queenie and Corky: “Corky” – a play-on words for Corktown Station, located in the Corktown neighborhood for which the TBM will travel through. “Queenie” – a play-on words 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.
- 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 taxicab 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.
Click HERE to cast your vote to name the TBMS.
Polls are open until Monday, July 28, 2025.
The Ontario Line will bring 15 new subway stations to Toronto, with a trip from one end to the other taking less than 30 minutes compared to the 70 minutes it takes on transit today.
Metrolinx broke ground last November on the 16-metre-deep shaft that will become the entry point for the TBMs. The two massive machines will dig a roughly 6-km pair of tunnels underground starting just east of Exhibition Station to just west of the Don River, bringing faster and more reliable transit through the core of downtown Toronto.
