there was a big announcement today for the university/spadina/york subway line. apparently they finnished one station. cant find any info on it, what does it mean? does it mean one station is complete and its open for business? they should do that.
 
All I could find was this release (link) which states that the tunnel portions are complete, nothing about a completed station.
It's just the tunnel portion from Sheppard West to Finch West. We've already been discussin in this thread that it must be almost finished. There's still 5 other tunnel segments and 6 stations to build, including the segment from Downsview to Sheppard West. We're at least 3 years before any chance of seeing any early station openings.

does it mean one station is complete and its open for business?
Uh ... yeah ... that's it ...
 
dont be snarky. why would they tunnel from finch to sheppard? i thought they are tunneling from downsview north to the steeles west?
 
dont be snarky. why would they tunnel from finch to sheppard? i thought they are tunneling from downsview north to the steeles west?

And Google is your friend! http://www3.ttc.ca/Spadina/index.jsp - check the construction activity and construction notices sections for latest information. for an overview of what has been completed, and what remains to be bored and built, check out the "Map of All Neighbourhoods" (Hint: the dotted red lines mark the path of the subway and the lines in green are the parts completed.)
 
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It's just the tunnel portion from Sheppard West to Finch West. We've already been discussin in this thread that it must be almost finished. There's still 5 other tunnel segments and 6 stations to build, including the segment from Downsview to Sheppard West. We're at least 3 years before any chance of seeing any early station openings.

Uh ... yeah ... that's it ...

And as the press release stated that first tunnel was 'officially' completed today, and the TBM's are being disassembled so that they can be moved to the next launch site. What's the issue?
 
The Spadina Line construction site is not updated often and it is quite outdated by now. For Holey and Moley, the tunnel boring goes from Sheppard West to Keele & Finch (completed) and then from Sheppard West south to Downsview. For Torkie and Yorkie, they dig from Steeles to Keele and Finch (I think they just passed York U station) and then from Steeles to Vaughan.
 
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The Spadina Line construction site is not updated often and it is quite outdated by now. For Holey and Moley, the tunnel boring goes from Sheppard West to Keele & Finch (completed)....

To clarify, both the northbound and southbound tunnels are completed in that stretch....

... and then from Sheppard West south to Downsview. For Torkie and Yorkie, they dig from Steeles to Keele and Finch (I think they just passed York U station)....

Nope. They're "stuck" and delayed for 3 months according to smallspy (look back in this thread to a message by smallspy on May 28). There's no word from TTC that indicates this will delay the full system opening date of end of 2015.

... and then from Steeles to Vaughan.

Correction: after Yorkie and Torkie complete the first run all the way to Keele-Finch, they will not be relaunched from Steeles. Instead, they'll be launched twice from 407, first to dig south to Steeles, and second to dig north to Vaughan. There's always a rhyme to the engineering reason, but it's beyond me why they could not do the Vaughan to Steeles stretch in one go.
 
Still on budget and still on time?

I've seen (and I can no longer find it on the web) a months-old report from TTC about the whole extension project still being on schedule but that there was no longer any wiggle room in the planning for unforeseen circumstances and aiming for the end-of-2015 completion date. I don't recall whether this report came out before the York U accident or after. Has anyone found a more recent report from TTC regarding it staying on time and on budget?

Also, specifically for Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, where I work nearby, I'm getting very frustrated not being able to look down into the hole to watch any progress. When I watch the things going on at ground level, it seems AWFULLY SLOW. When the TTC announced that they were erecting 4 tower cranes, one crane was assembled within days, and the three others don't exist even to today. The existing one does not do a thing. I've never seen an operator seated in it, and I've never seen any hoisting gear on it. It just turns into the wind.

The best I can see of the hole is from Hwy 7 westbound, but there still isn't much of a hole visible.

Also, TTC made available in PDF the set of presentation boards they used in a public meeting in mid-2010 that showed the construction stages for VMC. It clearly shows the severe shifting to the south of Hwy 7 eastbound lanes within 2 months of start of construction (Sept 13, 2011). That never happened. Rather, the lanes have been shifted northward by only two lanes' worth. Obviously they're working on a completely new plan--if at all. Is there anyone in the know here who can say for certain that they're still trying to follow the plan as it was presented at the 2010 open house?
 
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Correction: after Yorkie and Torkie complete the first run all the way to Keele-Finch, they will not be relaunched from Steeles. Instead, they'll be launched twice from 407, first to dig south to Steeles, and second to dig north to Vaughan. There's always a rhyme to the engineering reason, but it's beyond me why they could not do the Vaughan to Steeles stretch in one go.

Thanks for correction; I forgot about 407 launch site. Agreed--Vaughan to Steeles (or vice versa) in one swap would make more sense; maybe it has to do with some technical issues related to moving TBMs through the launch shaft. About York--do you know where they "stuck" exactly? I remember some TTC updates from couple of month ago that they are close to York U station.
 
About York--do you know where they "stuck" exactly? I remember some TTC updates from couple of month ago that they are close to York U station.

Yes, TTC's updates on Yorkie and Torkie are getting extremely long in the tooth, suggesting a delay of about 3 months already.

I had intended for you to go back in this message thread to May 28, where smallspy says the following. He says it in a way that suggests he has inside information. If's he's right about 6 months behind schedule, then it'll be hard for TTC to meet the end-of-2015 deadline, unless they decide to use the other two TBMs in Yorkie's and Torkie's stead.

Both of those TBMs are currently "parked" near or under Observatory Rd. Because of the earlier accident and the amount of time required to release that site back to the contractors, the grouting that is supposed to be done under the Schulich building is running almost 6 months behind. Until the grouting is completed, the TBMs can not dig underneath the building.
 
Finally, an update from TYSSE site:

A35-25-0965.jpg


Considering that Holey and Moley will start the Sheppard W - Downsview tunneling soon, they should be done boring some time next summer. At the same time, Yorkie and Torkie will complete the Steeles West -- Keele-Finch stretch. Now, why not to place all four of them at the 407 launch site instead of re-launching Y and T twice?
 
Looking at the TYSSE site it shows a portion of a new tunnel to be constructed from Wilson to Downsview. Why is there need for a new tunnel here?

It's from Downsview to Wilson yard. From what I understand, it's so that trains lining up to enter the yard after they go out of service don't block in service trains.
 
Considering that Holey and Moley will start the Sheppard W - Downsview tunneling soon, they should be done boring some time next summer. At the same time, Yorkie and Torkie will complete the Steeles West -- Keele-Finch stretch. Now, why not to place all four of them at the 407 launch site instead of re-launching Y and T twice?

I can't help but wonder if that is what in fact may happen. Granted they'd have to find a way to power 4 TBMs from the same site, but that seems like relative small potatoes - especially considering the power sources available there.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.
 

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