City councilors discussed the plan Monday after receiving a letter from the feds stating funding would be withdrawn from the project if not put into place by June 2009.

The People Mover project, which is separate from another Niagara Parks Commission service of the same name, was planned to extend from the Rainbow Bridge to Marineland, linking attractions along the way with a looped route, taking riders through Niagara Parks land and along the Niagara Parkway.

The project was scaled back after Fallsview Casino complained of operations being disrupted by the construction of the station in their second-level parking garage.

The project was further stalled after the Niagara Parks Commission abandoned the deal over various disputes, stating they wanted their own vintage railway system running from Table Rock to the Maid of the Mist.

"This is basically going to be a bus route," said Coun. Wayne Thomson, who expressed disappointment over the scaled back version of the plan.

Council will now take on the project themselves, with talks of changing plans from a monorail-type train to a bus route system.

The new plan will see the project running approximately three kilometres between the two casinos and the future convention centre site.