As new Metrolinx figures reveal the overall budget for the Scarborough subway extension project has now topped $10 billion, the tunnel-boring machine stalled for many months at Highway 401 appears to be on the move finally.In an agenda package released ahead of the Metrolinx board meeting on Thursday, officials briefly alluded to the work of building the tunnel for the future three-stop extension of Line 2 Bloor-Danforth.“Diggy Scardust, the Scarborough subway extension’s tunnel-boring machine, is progressing well, having reached Scarborough Centre station. Production is averaging 12 metres a day,” the single-page slide caption said over a few pictures of the massive machine.It was in late November when former Metrolinx president and CEO Phil Verster revealed soil conditions “hampered the progress of the tunnel-boring machine (TBM),” adding Metrolinx staff were working with Strabag (the private company building the tunnel) “on a technical solution and the schedule solution.”However, the TBM was stopped in the same area close to Highway 401 (just over a kilometre from its launch site) for many months. In subsequent follow-ups, Metrolinx staff described the lack of movement as two “planned stop(s)” to “allow crews to pre-emptively address wear and tear and optimize the overall functioning of the machine.”Related:Scarborough subway extension tunnelling stalled near Highway 401 for monthsA reply on the Scarborough subway extension X account dated Sept. 18 in response to a resident’s question said the tunnel-boring machine travelled more than a kilometre to date and was south of Highway 401.When tunnelling began in early 2023, Metrolinx staff described the TBM as being roughly the length of three GO Transit train cars and how it would create a tunnel diameter the width of more than three TTC subway cars. Officials previously said the machine would move around 10 to 15 metres daily. The whole journey was expected to take a little more than two years to complete and it should have been completed by now. However, officials now confirmed to CityNews the machine has only dug 1.7 kilometres of the 7.8-kilometre extension (21.8 per cent).Officials said on social media in February 2024 that a public tracker to follow the tunnel-boring machine’s location and progress would be “launching shortly,” but a link to such a tracker still can’t be found on the Metrolinx project’s website. Outside of requests made by CityNews in recent months, there has been little information released on this specific work by the provincial transportation organization.“Updates on Diggy Scardust’s progress and location will be provided via the Scarborough subway extension’s social media channels,” a statement sent to CityNews late Monday said.Related:Soil conditions ‘hampering’ Scarborough subway extension tunnelling, Metrolinx CEO saysDespite the delays in tunnelling, work is occurring around the line. CityNews went along the entire project area and saw multiple crews working at station sites and early works in preparation of the future tunnel.Meanwhile, a review of the same agenda package showed the cost of the Scarborough subway extension project jumping to $10.2 billion as a baseline figure at the end of March. A November report showed a baseline figure of $3.63 billion as of Sept. 30 with a notation it didn’t “reflect the full project cost.” A 2020 business case for the project pegged the total capital costs, including operating and maintaining the new infrastructure, at $5.5 to $6 billion. A $5.7-billion contract was awarded by the Ontario government in January to build all the stations, systems and rail tracks, and a $757-million contract was awarded in 2021 to build the tunnel.CityNews asked Metrolinx staff about the costs of the project, including a breakdown of funding to better understand how the total $10.2 billion came to be given the signed contracts come to around $6.46 billion. In the response emailed on Monday, such a breakdown wasn’t provided but a brief explanation was sent.“As we do with all major construction projects, the initial cost estimate ($5.5B) announced in 2019 was just the estimated construction cost of the project,” the statement said. “The $10.2B value includes construction costs along with additional project costs, like property acquisition, technical engineering advisors, installation, testing and commissioning of all systems equipment, and interconnection with existing TTC systems. It also includes design, supply, installation, testing, and commissioning of all rail and track components and an additional track east of Kennedy Station.”Calls for more transparency on Scarborough subway extension projectAndrew Pulsifer, the executive director of TTCriders — a non-profit advocacy group for transit riders in Toronto, said information about the project has been limited to date.“Accountability and transparency need to be front and centre with Metrolinx,” he told CityNews in an interview.“If you actually go to the website, on the Line 2 extension on Metrolinx, it hasn’t been updated since 2023. We need clear timelines, clear costing and everything else, so that Scarborough residents know when they can expect the transit they deserve.”Pulsifer said Scarborough residents face lengthy commutes, especially with the former Line 3 Scarborough RT being decommissioned and the replacement busway not scheduled to open until 2027. He said riders need better solutions to get around now, and information on progress needs to be more timely.Related:Scarborough subway extension project tunnelling begins“Transit users in Scarborough are feeling ignored. Frankly, there have been some small attempts to mitigate service levels there, but I do think again the timelines of the Scarborough bus rapid transit, those have been pushed back and delayed even further,” he said. Residents in Scarborough often feel like their needs are not being listened to and met by the province and the city.Doly Begum, the Ontario NDP MPP for Scarborough Southwest and the shadow minister of public transit, echoed similar concerns raised by Pulsifer.“People are so frustrated, they’re so fed up, they’re tired, but not only that, it’s actually costing people,” she said.Related:Metrolinx not releasing details on scrapped GO Transit, UP operating deal as opposition demands answers“It’s costing people so much time they could be with [their] family. It’s costing them time when they go to work, going to school, wherever they need to be. Frankly, it’s not fair because they’re paying their tax dollars, which is what Metrolinx is using.”Begum called for an investigation into the costs and handling of the project.“I think people deserve an answer: whether it’s the boring machine, whether it’s the ground, whatever it may be, we need an explanation. We need to find out exactly why the costs have gone up,” she said.The Scarborough subway extension was scheduled to open in 2030, but it’s not clear if that’s still the current timeframe.