Getting around Toronto when you get there.

By Gazette Staff

April 16th, 2026

BURLINGTON, ON

This is a Toronto story – given the number of people who travel to Toronto for work or family reasons you will want to know how to get around town,

It is also a mammoth construction job.

The Ontario government has officially started tunnelling the Ontario Line, marking a major milestone in the province’s plan to protect Ontario by building fast, reliable and affordable public transit. With construction underway across the full length of the line, supporting 4,700 good-paying jobs annually, the Ontario Line will put nearly 230,000 people within walking distance of modern rapid transit while connecting more people to jobs, relieving gridlock and cutting travel times across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

“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,” said Premier Doug Ford. “Our government will continue to fight gridlock and keep workers on the job by leading the largest expansion of public transit in North America.”

This is how big tunnels are created.

Two tunnel boring machines are digging twin tunnels from Exhibition Station toward the Don Yard near the Don Valley Parkway and Lakeshore Boulevard, as deep as 40 metres below the surface. At the Don Yard, Ontario Line trains will emerge from the tunnels and continue east above ground across the Lower Don Bridge. Once complete, the 15.6-kilometre Ontario Line will run from Exhibition Place to the Eglinton Crosstown LRT at Don Mills Road, with 15 stations and more than 40 transit connections.

“Under the leadership of Premier Ford, we’re getting the Ontario Line done to tackle gridlock and increase access to fast, reliable and affordable transit for millions of people across the GTA,” said Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation. “This major milestone moves us another step closer to delivering world-class transit for people across the GTA while supporting thousands of good-paying jobs.”

Major construction is also underway at Exhibition Station, where crews are building platforms and station entrances on both sides of the track. Exhibition Station will connect riders to GO Transit and bring subway service to the fast-growing Liberty Village neighbourhood, putting thousands more people within walking distance of transit and supporting more than 17,000 nearby jobs. During rush hour, more than 12,000 people are expected to use the station, including more than 6,000 transferring between GO Transit and the Ontario Line.

Major progress is also being made at several downtown stations, with excavation complete at King West, Moss Park and Distillery District, and nearing completion at Chinatown.

“The Ontario Line will help to transform the GTA, making it faster and easier for residents to reach home, school or work,” said Gregor Robertson, federal Minister of Housing and Infrastructure. “By working together, we are building the first new subway line in Toronto in decades, and we are thrilled to see progress continue.”

Ontario is investing nearly $70 billion in public transit, including the largest subway expansion in Canadian history with the Ontario Line, the Scarborough Subway Extension, the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension and the Yonge North Subway Extension.