TORONTO

Mayor Rob Ford’s next transit battle could be a rematch over the Sheppard subway.

With the news the federal government was willing to contribute $660 million towards extending the Bloor-Danforth line to Sheppard Ave., Ford and his allies signalled Monday they aren’t giving up on extending the Sheppard subway from Don Mills Station to meet up with the new Scarborough subway.

“This is just the beginning,” Ford told Newstalk 1010 host Jerry Agar following the federal announcement.

“They approved the LRT on Sheppard — people don’t want the LRT on Sheppard — so I guess that will be our next subway plan is to tackle the LRTs on Sheppard and put subways along there to connect the loop between Don Mills and McCowan. It only makes sense.”

Last year, council rejected Ford’s push to extend the Sheppard subway to the Scarborough Town Centre. Councillors instead voted to revive the Sheppard LRT line killed by Ford when he swept into office.

The Scarborough subway plan council has requested would link up with the Sheppard LRT at McCowan Station. If the subway and the LRT are built, a rider wanting to go to the Scarborough Town Centre, via the Sheppard subway, would have to take the subway to its eastern end, switch to the Sheppard LRT and then hop on to the Scarborough subway.

Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly argued Monday’s federal announcement opens up the discussion of extending the Sheppard subway.

Councillor Doug Ford stressed it doesn’t make sense for two subways to be connected by a few kilometres of LRT.

“You have to close the loop with a subway,” he said. “It just makes sense.”

TTC CEO Andy Byford admitted from a transit perspective he could “see the attraction” of joining up the subways.

“But one thing at a time,” Byford said. “At the moment, (the Scarborough subway) is the thing that we’re talking about and that’s the only thing that has funding, but we do have a fully-funded plan for the (Sheppard) LRT.”