Brussels, 16/06/2004 (Agence Europe) - On 4 June during a conference organised in Geneva, the International Union of Public Transport (UITP) and the International Union of Railways (UIC) signed a joint declaration on combating terrorism on public transport. In a press release, the two associations place emphasis on the vulnerability of public transport which, they warn, is "open and accessible to all". They say there are not generally controls on access or seat place, and point to the fact that there are many different points of entry or exit. This is why they call on all those interested to cooperate in taking action. Public transport companies must carry out an analysis of their network's vulnerability and national authorities must warn companies as soon as possible in the case of threat in order to allow them to take the necessary preventive measures. At high-risk periods, they should also ensure a major and immediate presence on the most widely used lines. UITP and UIC also call on national authorities to take the bacteriological, nuclear and chemical risk into account in public transport. They intend to call on their members to plan crisis drills in concert with national authorities. UITP finally announces the creation of a permanent group of experts on security issues to work in collaboration with that of UIC.