Topeka ? Officials in Kansas and Oklahoma have been working on a development plan for rail passenger service between the Kansas City area and Oklahoma City, with a stop in Topeka.

The Federal Railroad Administration recently announced a $250,000 grant to the Kansas Department of Transportation to do the planning. KDOT is adding $125,000 to the federal grant, and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation is adding another $125,000.

The federal share of the study will come from the $8 billion provided in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for the development of high-speed rail corridors.

With assurances the federal money is coming and with the Kansas and Oklahoma money committed, KDOT has hired the engineering firm of Parsons Brinckerhoff to do the study. The study should be complete by fall 2011.