Second breakthrough made on Vancouver subway

Phyllis, one of two TBMs constructing twin tunnels for the project, has broken through to the future Mount Pleasant Station.

Since its launch from Great Northern Way last November, Phyllis has excavated 725m of tunnel and 494 concrete liner rings have been installed along the new section.

Elsie, the first of the two Herrenknecht machines to be launched, broke through at the station in January and began tunnelling toward the future Broadway-City Hall Station on March 4.

The Broadway Subway Project will extend the Millennium Line 5.7km from VCC-Clark Station to West Broadway and Arbutus Street, providing a SkyTrain service along the Broadway corridor. The corridor is home to British Columbia’s second-largest jobs centre, a nascent innovation and research hub, and growing residential communities. The line is scheduled to open in 2026.

Each TBM will take approximately one year to dig the 5km from Great Northern Way-Emily Carr Station to Cypress Street near the future Arbutus Station.

Progress continues to be made at the elevated guideway, where the Broadway Subway Project Corporation is installing girders to connect the 21 columns between VCC-Clark Station and the future Great Northern Way-Emily Carr Station. Excavation and construction of the station foundations are ongoing at the Broadway-City Hall, Oak-VGH, South Granville and Arbutus sites.

The two 150m-long TBMs are named after Phyllis Munday, a well-known nurse and mountaineer who founded the Girl Guides in British Columbia, and aircraft designer Elizabeth MacGill.