Geneva Ellegant sat outside her Alabama home on a Tuesday morning, remembering her daughter’s witty humor, gift for painting and beautiful singing voice.

“She was my easy child,” Ellegant said of Tavianna, who went by Tavi.

Nearly three months earlier, Tavi had left work with her boyfriend, Chase Craddock, to return to their home in Long Beach, where the couple cared for his father and grandmother. As they crossed the tracks in Pass Christian, an Amtrak train on the new Mardi Gras route between New Orleans and Mobile struck their vehicle. She was 24, and he was 31.

Since the crash, Ellegant has feared that fatal collisions like the one in September could become more common along the line, where some crossings — including the one where her daughter died — have only flashing lights and no

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