A Northeast Louisiana passenger rail service will soon become a reality.

The Federal Railroad granted $500,000 to the I-20 Corridor Intercity Passenger Rail Service towards development of a train service that will connect Shreveport, Ruston and Monroe to Dallas, Texas.

The mayors of Monroe, Ruston, Shreveport and Vicksburg made the announcement Friday in downtown Monroe at a future terminal site.

The half-a-million-dollar federal funding is part of the $2 million Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, authored by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Baton Rouge), for railroad infrastructure.

Southern Railroad Commission Chairman Knox Ross said the I-20 route is officially on the map of rail lines in the United States.