Giant earth-chewing machines that will carve Ontario Line just got names

The first two Ontario Line tunnel boring machines (TBMs), which will dig twin tunnels in the downtown portion of the forthcoming transit line, have officially been named, and they're inspired by the city's very own neighbourhoods. 

As part of their June 2025 naming contest, Metrolinx received over 900 submissions and over 1,000 votes cast. After reviewing all of the submissions, the two machines have officially been named...drumroll please...Libby and Corkie!

The duo's names were submitted by Jason Paris, who drew inspiration from two of the communities the future Ontario 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. 

This isn't the first time Jason Paris has been cemented into Toronto transit history, as he also named two of the TBMs that carved tunnels for the Eglinton Crosstown LRT — "Dennis," which was named after Mount Dennis, and "Lea", which was named after Leaside. 

The Ontario Line TBMs being unloaded from the ship at Port of Oshawa. Photo: HOPA. 

Libby and Corkie are the first two of four project TBMs that have arrived in Canada, and were meticulously put together, tested, and taken apart in Schwanau, Germany, ahead of their transatlantic voyage.

In preparation for the arrival, Metrolinx broke ground last year on the 16-metre deep launch shaft that will become the starting point for the two machines. 

With  excavation now complete at the tunnel launch shaft, Libby and Corkie will start their tunnelling journey in 2026. Over the course of their work, the two machines will dig a roughly six-kilometre pair of tunnels underground, starting east of Exhibition Station to west of the Don River. 

Once in service, the Ontario Line will bring 15 new stations to the city, with one trip from one end of the line to the other taking less than 30 minutes, compared to the hour-plus journey it takes on transit today. 

This isn't the first time twin tunnel boring machines in Toronto have been nicknamed after local neighbourhoods. 

The similarly-named Rexy and Renny, which completed their 6.3-kilometre dig of the Eglinton West Crosstown Extension earlier this year, were named after Renforth Drive in Mississauga and the Rexdale neighbourhood of Etobicoke.