The Amtrak route that carries hundreds of passengers a day between New Orleans and Mobile is celebrating a year of extraordinary success and promise, even as its leaders confront growing questions of safety at rail crossings along the Gulf Coast.
The route, called the Mardi Gras service, looks like a win. Since trains began running last August, the line has more than doubled its ridership projections, boosted regional tourism and helped bring new signs of economic development to many cities where Amtrak now stops.
But the triumphs have been complicated by five deadly crashes, which have killed seven people. All died crossing the tracks in cars, maneuvering around lowered gates at crossings or walking along the rails as a train closed in…