Construction of Montreal’s long-awaited Blue Line extension is entering a major new phase as the project moves underground, with officials preparing to name the tunnel boring machine that will carve out the new line.
The massive 9.7-metre-wide machine was recently unveiled and will dig a 4.6-kilometre tunnel from the future Vertières station to Anjou station as part of the east-end extension.
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A ceremonial event is planned to officially reveal the machine’s name, which officials say is meant to mark its journey eastward as excavation work begins.
Once in operation, the cutting wheel will bore through rock and soil, with debris transported through the machine’s interior back to the Vertières construction site. Officials describe the system as an engineering feat, as it excavates and lines the tunnel in a single pass.
The machine is expected to advance at a rate of roughly 10 to 15 metres per day, with tunnelling continuing until completion, expected sometime in 2028. It will then be dismantled and returned to German manufacturer Herrenknecht.
The Blue Line extension has been discussed for decades, with the project first greenlit in 2018 and construction beginning in 2024. Montreal’s East End has waited roughly 40 years for the expansion to move forward.
The $7.6-billion project is expected to be completed by 2031 and will add five new stations to the Blue Line, with names intended to honour women and communities that have shaped Montreal’s history.
