Released just days before the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a state-sponsored study has reported the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority needs to enhance security measures on its subway system to adequately prevent or respond to a terrorist attack.

The report, released Friday by the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security, calls for the MBTA to hire 100 patrol officers and to improve communication between subway stations and separate lines as well as with the departments and emergency personnel that would arrive on the scene of an attack.

Michael Bloom, spokesman for committee chairman Sen. Jarrett Barrios (D-Cambridge), said the report–which was commissioned shortly after last year’s London bombings–calls for more anti-terror training, especially in long tunnels.

Bloom added that the report recommends an improved communication system for the police, fire department and other first-responders to use both above and underground at the scene of an emergency.

“Right now, we’re about two years away from that communication system,” Bloom said.

With mass transportation ranking high on the list of potential terrorist targets, the MBTA faces the enormous task of providing security for an estimated 1.1 million riders every day. Spokeswoman Lydia Rivera said the MBTA has been working “aggressively” since Sept. 11 to provide the best security possible–not an easy task, she said, considering the age of the transit system.

“People have to realize we’re dealing with a 109-year-old system,” she said. “It’s not a new system like Atlanta. We have to work with what we have, so we’re investing all we can in security.”

Rivera said multiple security measures have already been implemented in response to the Sept. 11 attacks and the London bombings.

“We have become more attune with our emergency exits and we do audits and inspections,” Rivera said. “After the London bombing, we sent some police to London to work with them to observe how they were going to work with that situation.”

MBTA employees receive anti-terror training–such as identifying suspicious people and packages–to teach them how to effectively respond to an emergency, Rivera said. In addition, nearly $3 million has been spent to install security cameras at all MBTA stations, expected to be completed by spring 2007. Additional K-9 units and bomb-detection technology also provide extra layers of security, Rivera said.

The MBTA relies heavily on the vigilance of commuters to report suspicious behavior on trains or in stations. Rivera said the MBTA has invested money in radio advertisements to increase public awareness of riders’ responsibility.

Three years ago, the MBTA launched a “See something? Say something” program to encourage people to notify transit police if they notice anything suspicious, and in March, MBTA General Manager Daniel Grabauskas handed out pamphlets at the Park Street T station to promote the program.

The pamphlet provided important telephone numbers to dial in case of an emergency, and informed riders how to report suspicious behavior without putting themselves in danger.

The MBTA suggested that people should not actually confront suspicious individuals and they should not use their cell phones 300 feet of a suspicious package, according to a March 22 Daily Free Press article.

Rivera said the MBTA would welcome the committee’s suggestions and will continue to enhance security in the future.

“Overall, we feel at MBTA, we’re doing the best we can and we will continue to work aggressively in becoming more prepared,” Rivera said.