There’s a particular kind of noise that comes with big construction—metal working, distant engines, the whole area kind of vibrating. On Thursday in Toronto, that feeling moved from the background to the front, as tunnelling officially began for the Ford government’s signature Ontario Line subway project.
At Exhibition Place, Premier Doug Ford, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, and a lineup of politicians and officials gathered at the southern terminus to mark the moment. Two tunnel boring machines were sent from there, setting a route aimed toward the Don Valley Parkway. The ceremony was the usual mix of speeches and staged symbolism, but the machines themselves are the real headline here.
Ford framed it as a historic milestone. “The start of tunnelling is a historic milestone for the Ontario Line which, once complete, will help cut travel times for commuters across Toronto by 40 minutes,” he said. He also tied the project to a broader message about fighting gridlock, adding, “Our government will continue to fight gridlock and keep workers on the job by leading the largest expansion of public transit in North America.” It’s a big promise, and everyone in the crowd probably knew it was—40 minutes sounds clean on a stage.
The government said the machines would go as deep as 40 metres below the surface as they tunnel the southern section of the line. The plan isn’t just a straight underground run either; the Ontario Line is set to include a section broadly integrated into existing GO train lines and another elevated portion toward its northern hub at Don Mills and Eglinton. So, you’re looking at a project that changes shape as it moves—underground here, elevated there—like Toronto itself is never really one thing.
Chow’s remarks leaned into the same gridlock-and-mobility theme. “This project is part of a historic investment in public transit to fight gridlock, cut commute times and keep people moving across our city,” she said. When the Ontario Line is finished, it’s expected to run for almost 16 kilometres through downtown Toronto, connecting with routes like the Eglinton Crosstown LRT, TTC lines 1 and 2, and the GO train. That’s the part that matters for commuters—whether you’re swapping lines downtown or trying to get north-south without getting stuck in the same bottlenecks.
Officials also discussed timelines, though none are presented like a final promise. Construction is expected to wrap in the early 2030s, and there is no official opening date. The project’s history makes that carefully phrased “expected” language feel a little familiar: the Ontario Line was announced in 2019 with a promise that it “could open by 2027” and a $10.9 billion price tag. It broke ground in March 2022.
Since then, the cost has shifted dramatically. The figure has been updated to include operating costs, and Misryoum reporting says it has exploded to more than $27 billion, with the opening date removed. That $27 billion figure captures all major contracts that need to be handed out. And yeah, that’s where the optimism meets the harder reality—because when plans get bigger and timelines drift, the public learns to read speeches differently. Still, today’s milestone is what it is: the tunnelling has begun, the machines are moving, and Toronto’s long argument over transit is—once again—running under the city.
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