In Vancouver, the two Herrenknecht TBMs are boring twin parallel tunnels for the Broadway subway extension to the Millennium Line, and recent months has seen the first breakthroughs.
The Broadway Subway Project will extend the Millennium Line by 3.54 miles (5.7km) from VCCClark Station to West Broadway and Arbutus Street. The extension line is scheduled to be brought into operational service in 2026.
The TBMs – ‘Elsie’ and ‘Phyllis’ – are being used by Broadway Subway Project Corporation, an Acciona Ghella JV, for the tunneling works.
TBM ‘Elsie’ arrived at Mount Pleasant station in late January and was relaunched in early March to drive to Broadway-City Hall station, which is the deepest of the stations on the extension.
Next task for ‘Elsie’ is to undergo scheduled maintenance on the cutterhead after excavating more than 4,265ft (1,300m) and installing more than 900 concrete tunnel liner rings. It will then be relaunched to drive to Oak-VGH Station, passing the halfway point in tunneling toward the future Arbutus Station terminus.
‘Phyllis’ is following on and also reached Mount Pleasant before being relaunched toward Broadway-City Hall, where it will arrive next
