MOUs were signed between the following council of governments regions:

The East Texas Region and 

North Central Texas Region
August 7, 2007
Mineola, Texas 

The East Texas Region, North Central Texas Region, Northwest Louisiana Region
May 10, 2008
 Marshall, Texas

The North Central Texas Region, 

East Texas Region, Northwest Louisiana Region,  North Delta (Northeast Louisiana) Region

May 9, 2009
Marshall, Texas 

In early 2014, members of the Ark-La-Tex Corridor Council reached out to our colleagues in Mississippi with the Central Mississippi Planning & Development District and the East Central Planning & Development District, as well as to the Southern Rail Commission, chaired, at that time, by Mayor Knox Ross, of Pelahatchie, Mississippi, to request a Resolution to build on the rail studies and the MOUs in Texas and Louisiana.

A resolution from the Southern Railroad Commission was signed on March 7, 2014. 

In late September 2015, the partners met to learn of exciting new developments 

and discuss next steps. These meetings included more than 60 elected officials and coalition members from northern Louisiana and East Texas including Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, and Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price.  

 In Louisiana, the mayors of Shreveport, Bossier City, Minden and Ruston, and their sister cities along the route, have worked to procure resolutions in support of the Corridor. Bossier City Mayor Lo Walker, and Shreveport Mayor Ollie Tyler have assumed leadership roles in encouraging the Corridor Council’s efforts to establish this route. Leading educators, economic development officials and other stakeholders have also joined in these efforts, all sharing the vision for higher speed passenger rail service for their respective communities.

In addition, in the 2012 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature, the Corridor Council worked with then-Louisiana State Representatives Roy Burrell and Katrina Jackson and their colleagues, to urge support from the State of Louisiana for this passenger rail connection. 

Through their efforts and the work of their colleagues, Concurrent Resolution No. 188 was passed securing $250,000 in funding from the State of Louisiana for a Corridor feasibility study that was conducted by HNTB in 2015. 

In 2016, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards designated the I -20 Corridor as one the top two rail priorities for the state. Governor Edwards is coordinating efforts with Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant, who is also strongly supportive of the Corridor. United States Senator Thad Cochran, Chairman of Senate Finance, and Senator Wicker, who serves on the Commerce Committee are also strongly in favor of this effort.

The Southern Rail Commission, a government sponsored regional rail transportation effort between the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia [check Georgia] is strongly supporting the Corridor effort. Their efforts have been instrumental in enlisting the support of Governor Bryant, as well as United States Senators Thad Cochran, Chairman of Senate Finance, and Senator Lowell Wicker, who serves on the Commerce Committee who are also strongly in favor of our effort.

Commission President Gregg White continues to work on the Gulf Coast route across the southern part of the state, as well as the I-20 Corridor which would connect Vicksburg, Jackson and Meridian with the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. These leaders see the wisdom of connecting the 5.7 million population of the Greater Atlanta metroplex with the 7.1 million population of the Dallas/ Fort Worth Metroplex, as well as the millions of people along, and contiguous to this route, and the economic benefits of improved transportation and tourism.