Blue Line Extension TBM Arrives at Port of Montreal
Written by Jennifer McLawhorn, Managing Editor
Construction site of the future Vertières station (Pie-IX) in June 2025.
Caption and photo courtesy of STM
MONTREAL - The tunnel boring machine (TBM) for the upcoming Blue Line extension has arrived at the Port of Montreal.
This marks a major milestone in the project, according to the Blue Line Project Office. The TBM was made in Germany for the project and has a “cutting wheel measuring 9.7 meters in diameter.” It will dig 4.6 kilometers of tunnel to Anjou.
Now, the TBM will be transported in parts to the construction site of the future Vertières station. As of reporting, the Vertières and Madeleine-Parent stations have been excavated. The transport, according to the release, necessitates special transport due to the size and weight of the TBM. Over the coming months, crews will assemble the TBM in time for a planned start date in Spring 2026. In the future, the Blue Line Project Office says it will invite the public to vote on a name.
Blue Line Project Office Head Maha Cloud said, “For the past year, work on the Blue Line extension has been moving forward on schedule, and tangible progress has been made. Vertical excavation is now complete for two of the future stations, and work continues simultaneously at the other sites. At the future Vertières station, horizontal excavation has already begun, with our teams now digging a portion of the tunnel eastward to accommodate the tunnel boring machine. Digging is also underway on the westbound tunnel toward Saint-Michel station.”
