Four city mayors across North Louisiana, along with the mayor of Vicksburg, met in downtown Monroe on Friday, Dec. 15, to announce a major milestone happening across I-20.

Coming soon to the ArkLaMiss will be a passenger rail train connecting Dallas to Shreveport, Ruston, and Monroe. During the meeting of all of the area mayors, it was announced that the railroad is officially on the map and will see the beginning of plan development in Jan. 2024.

The Southern Rail Commission, which works to bring railroads throughout the southern region, will allocate $500,000 from the Federal Railroad Administration to fund advancements of passenger rail services across the I-20 corridor.