MONTREAL - A year after three teenagers were killed by a Via Rail train under the Turcot Interchange, families and friends are heading to Ottawa to ask the federal government for a change to Canada's Railway Safety Act.

Dylan Ford, Mitch Bracken, and Ricardo Conesa, were trespassing on the rail yards under the interchange when they were hit by Train 668 on Halloween night, 2010. Two friends survived because they were not on the tracks.

The boys were known for spray-painting graffiti, although their families say when the crash happened the boys were walking back to their cars.

Since their deaths, questions have been raised by the boys' families over Via's safety procedures around major urban centres.

Though the young men broke the law their families and friends say it should not have cost them their lives.

"We've paid dearly for that mistake and we live with that every day. Over and above that, my greatest fear is the next child hit by a train without a headlight on," said Shelley Reddam, the mother of one of the teenagers who survived the incident.

The Via Rail accident report from the incident stated that the train's main floodlight was dimmed as it headed toward Montreal.

According to current Canadian regulations, a train's main headlight must be on full power, unless the train is facing oncoming traffic.

Reddam, along with Ford's mother, Jamie McAllan, have teamed up to change the country's Railway Safety Act, calling for large solar-powered street lamps with motion detectors to be installed in areas where pedestrians are known to cross train tracks.

It's a lifesaving initiative, said McAllan.

"It's something that has to be done because it cannot happen to another family," she said.

Reddam and McAllan will head to Ottawa Monday to table a petition in support of amending the Act.

"They have a basic level of safety they owe Canadian citizens," said McAllan.

With the federal government seeking to move forward with plans for high-speed trains in the Quebec City – Windsor corridor, the mothers say time is of the essence, before another child is hit.

"I don't have the same kid," said Shelley of her son, who survived, but continues to suffer. "He's destroyed, he's very angry. He's destroyed -- he's just destroyed. I think if we can save one family from having to deal with this, it will make a big difference."