TEXAS - North Texans will get one chance to tell state officials what Texas' new statewide rail plan should include, and that chance is next week.

On Wednesday, the chief of the newly created rail division of the Texas Department of Transportation will lead a two-hour brainstorming session in Mesquite, and the public is invited. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at the department's local headquarters, 4777 E. U.S. Highway 80 on the northeast corner of Big Town Boulevard and U.S. 80.

The effort to develop a statewide plan for rail comes as the Transportation Department seeks to broaden its mission beyond the roads and bridges that have been its focus since Texas lawmakers created the agency in 1917 and called it, initially, the Texas Highway Department.

At the same time, the Obama administration has spent billions already on efforts to fast-track some state efforts to create high-speed passenger rail, a river of money that has flowed to states other than Texas, where plans for inter-city passenger rail have been in the works for years.

Bill Glavin, the agency's new rail director, told the Texas Transportation Commission on Wednesday that he will have a draft of the full rail plan for its review by October. He said it will include recommendations for improving freight capacity and how to better take advantage of future federal investment in high-speed trains. In addition, the plan will address how Texas might increase the ease with which travelers can connect between airports, urban transit systems and the three Amtrak passenger lines that operate in Texas.

"The statewide rail plan will establish a framework for addressing future and existing passenger and freight rail service in Texas," said Mark Cross, a spokesman for the agency. It will also begin looking into available funding, and what such services may cost.