Industrial development

• The UK's transport infrastructure is increasingly under pressure as car ownership continues to increase and economic development puts pressure on rail, port and airport capacity
• Road network development


  1. £15bn road improvement strategy launched in 2014

  2. Introduction of smart motorways on busy stretches of roads

  3. Over 100 new road schemes before 2020

  4. Constructing additional lanes on busy motorways and major roads
• Road network developments


  • Improve the capacity of the UK's roads
  • Bring jobs in construction, boosting local and regional economies
• Rail network development


  1. Electrify Trans-Pennine lines between Manchester and York, and Liverpool and Newcastle

  2. Construct London's Crossrail to improve east-west connections across London and reduce travel time for commuters

  3. Construct High Speed 2 (HS2) high-speed rail network linking London to Birmingham
• The original plan for HS2 to extend the route to northern cities such as Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield has been cancelled due to rising costs
• Port development


  1. Maritime 2050 government program to guarantee the UK's continued prominence in global shipping trade

  2. £1.7 billion planned spending on port infrastructure from now to 2020

  3. £400 million spent to enlarge Bristol docks for world's largest container ships
• Airports


  • 3.6% of UK's GDP comes from airports
  • Over 750,000 flights depart the UK each year carrying 200 million passengers and 2 million tonnes of freight
• Heathrow Airport Expansion


  1. Government proposed a third runway in 2016 to reduce congestion and increase capacity

  2. Controversial due to social and environmental impact

  3. Will create thousands of jobs and boost the local economy