A southbound New Mexico Rail Runner train from Santa Fe struck and killed a man who police say was sitting in the middle of the tracks Saturday.

The accident occurred with train 507 that left the Santa Fe Depot at 1:17 p.m. The fatality happened at 2:30 p.m. just south of the intersection with Osuna NE in Albuquerque's North Valley, according to Albuquerque Police Department spokeswoman Nadine Hamby.

Hamby said the train engineer "saw an object move and realized that it was a person sitting in the middle of the tracks." She said the engineer sounded the horn in an effort to warn the person, but "it appeared that the person had been startled by the train's horn." The train then went into emergency mode "but was unable to stop," Hamby said.

The man died at the scene. His identity will be released after an investigation by the state Office of the Medical Investigator, Hamby said.

Some 125 passengers were on train 507 at the time, said Augusta Meyers, spokeswoman for Rail Runner. The passengers were stuck inside cars for an hour and a half until Albuquerque city buses were deployed to shuttle them to their stations.

Some 500 other people may have been delayed as other trains heading south from Santa Fe were stopped while the Albuquerque Police Department finished its investigation, Meyers said.

Buses were also deployed for these passengers, though many arrived at their destinations late.