A 20-year-old woman is dead after being hit by a train in Bedford on Thursday morning.

Halifax Regional Police said they would not be releasing the identity of the Bedford woman.

According to police, she was walking on the tracks near the 270 block of Rocky Lake Drive — close to the Bedford Highway — when she was struck by a Halifax-bound train. The call to police came in at 9:18 a.m.

The woman was dead when emergency crews arrived on scene.

The CN train, which is about three kilometres long and loaded with containers, was moved at around 2 p.m. while police searched the tracks for evidence.

The CN train was moved at around 2 p.m. while police searched the tracks for evidence. (Shaina Luck/CBC)

Jason Burke, who owns Bedford Auto Glass near where the woman was hit, said he knew something was wrong when he heard the train's horn this morning.

"I could hear the train coming and he had the horn, he was completely unloading the air horn and in 16 years of being in this location I've never, ever — normally they have a couple of quick bursts," he said.

"Kids walk up and down the tracks quite often but he was emptying it."

Burke said he sees people walking on the tracks a lot.

'Very sad, terrible'

Dylan Shearer, who works at a sporting goods store next to the scene, also heard the loud whistle — something he's never heard at that time of morning.

"Something was different, for sure," he said. "It's sad, very sad, terrible."

Investigators were on the scene for several hours on Thursday.

Patrick Waldron, a spokesperson for CN Rail, said the company will be assisting Halifax police in the investigation.