The future of transit in Scarborough is still up in the air. But the possibility of a subway extension is looking less likely.

City Council and the Province gave the go-ahead to a subway east of the Kennedy station instead of light rail transit this summer. But the plan hinges on the federal government contributing to the additional cost of a billion dollars.

Ontario Transportation Minister Glen Murray is meeting with his federal counterpart, Lisa Raitt, this week. He’s says he’s not holding out hope of federal money. Murray says, “Put a ‘416’ area code in front of a transit project, [federal] money disappears.”

Murray says he is talking with Metrolinx about how to proceed without federal money. It could mean a return to the original plan to build an LRT. Many city councillors feel the added cost isn’t justified by the number of people who would use the subway extension, and point out that an LRT would offer more stops.