ICE calls for clearer long-term goals in UK transport strategy

The Institution of Civil Engineers has publicly criticised the Government's newly published transport strategy, warning it falls short of providing the long-term objectives needed to guide investment across the UK's infrastructure network.

The Institution responded to the Government's Better Connected integrated transport strategy, published on 2 April 2026 by the Department for Transport. The 92-page document sets out a vision for domestic transport in England, covering priorities such as simplified public transport payments, safer journeys, and better alignment between transport and new housing development.

While the ICE welcomed the principles and priorities outlined in the strategy, it warned that the document does not provide the "clear, long-term transport objectives" that the Institution has consistently described as essential for guiding major infrastructure investment. The concern, as articulated by ICE leadership, is that without such goals, "decision making risks remaining fragmented across transport modes and regions."

The Institution has long argued that the UK's infrastructure ambitions require a more joined-up strategic approach. The Better Connected strategy is the Government's first attempt to set out a unified vision for domestic transport in England, and the ICE's response reflects wider concern from the engineering profession about whether the document gives the sector sufficient direction for the long-term pipeline of projects it needs to plan effectively.

The ICE called for specific, measurable long-term goals that every region, operator and transport mode can work towards collectively. Without that coherence, the Institution argues, the Government risks undermining its own ambitions to align infrastructure investment with housing growth and economic development.