Now that's embarrassing.... Senator is almost hit by a train as he gives a speech about RAILWAY SAFETY

Senator Richard Blumenthal had a close call with a train Friday while giving a speech on commuter safety



Blumenthal was standing on the platform when a train nearly struck him in the back



A senator unintentionally demonstrated his point about train safety when he almost got struck by a locomotive during a speech.

Richard Blumenthal, who is a Democrat from Connecticut, had been talking at Milford Metro-North station when a train whistled past at a high speed.

Complete with easels and charts, Blake was laying out the MTA's safety violations, which total 139 over the last 10 years, worth $552,000 in fines.

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Lesson one: Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal received an unexpected lesson in practicing what you preach at a press conference as a train whizzed by

To begin: All is quiet and calm as Senator Richard Blumenthal and the Mayor of Milford, Connecticut stand on the platform, but an express train is just moments away

The force of the Amtrak train was so much it caused him to stumble and a chart he was holding nearly fell over.

Ironically, the train had almost hit him at the exact moment Milford mayor Ben Blake had said: ‘Safety, as you know, is paramount.’

Senator Blumenthal had been campaigning for greater accountability from Metro-North railway after it was revealed it had paid $552,000 in fines in the last decade.

The politician’s close call with the train happened on Friday.

Blumenthal had no comment about the close call.

Lookout behind you! Just as the senator is giving his speech, an express train roars into view. A concerned cameraman points at the Senator to watch out

In the blink of an eye: In an instant, the train is whizzing by. As the fast-moving train glides toward the presentation, Mr Blake ironically utters: 'Safety, as you know, is paramount.'

Data provided by the Federal Railroad Administration shows the Metro-North has five times the number of safety defects as any commuter railroad in the country.

It saw two major train derailments in 2013, one in New York City killed four passengers, a system-wide outage that left thousands of passengers stranded in the dead of winter, and several fatal accidents on the tracks.

A spokeswoman for the Metro-North said earlier this month that the commuter railroad generally does better in federal inspection that most railroads.

Still going: As the train approaches break-neck speed, the presentation and easel are almost knocked over!