CMA's Interim Report Into Road And Rail Civil Engineering

Summary

In July we wrote about the Competition and Markets Authority's proposed study into the road and rail sectors, aimed at supporting the government's ambitious 10-year strategy for infrastructure growth. The CMA has now published its interim report, setting out its emerging findings and possible remedies. The CMA's final report is due to be released in April 2026 and the focus is on how market interactions between public bodies and the business supply chain can best incentivise cost-effective delivery of rail and road infrastructure. It also considers whether public procurement and regulatory processes could make it easier for firms to enter, expand, invest and innovate. As noted in the interim report, rail and road, excluding HS2, accounted for 70-75% of government expenditure on economic infrastructure in 2022 and in 2023-24 the total annual expenditure on public roads was expected to be about £10.3 billion, with about £8.7 billion spent on railways.