The recently announced federal designation of a project to expand long-distance passenger rail service through East Texas could be a “game-changer” for the region, according to Marion County Judge Leward LaFleur.

LaFleur, chairman of the East Texas Council of Governments’ Rural Transportation Planning Organization, recently spoke about the impact of a December announcement that the Federal Railroad Administration had selected the Interstate 20 Corridor Passenger Rail Service project for its Corridor Identification and Improvement Program.