The Conservative manifesto has pledged to invest more than £100bn in infrastructure over the next Parliament – with commitments to pursue major schemes such as Crossrail 2.
Released today there were few transport surprises in the document, much of which had been trailed in advance.
Among the new commitments was a pledge ‘to introduce smart ticketing and part-time season tickets and require train companies to improve compensation arrangements for passengers when trains are more than a few minutes late’.
Tories also said they aim for almost every car and van to be a zero emission vehicle by 2050 – and 'will invest £500m over the next five years to achieve it’.
As expected the document also commits the party to ensuring that regulated fares will only rise by retail price inflation, and that train operating companies will not have any flexibility to raise ticket prices above this.
It also reiterates long-standing government plans to invest £38bn in the railway network in the five years to 2019 and £15bn in roads by 2020. Major projects were also highlighted in addition to HS2 and High Speed 3 – proposed to run east to west across the Pennines in the north.
The Conservatives said the party will also push forward with plans for Crossrail 2, running through London and connecting Surrey and Hertfordshire.
In response, the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) director general, Nick Baveystock, praised the manifesto for recognising the importance of infrastructure.
'We are however at a critical time. The scale of the UK’s needs is large and growing, public finances remain tight and we are emerging as an attractive market for investment. We need to now take things to the next level,' he added.
'This means developing a long term vision for infrastructure – one which invests in the upkeep of our local roads and flood defences on a longer term basis and builds resilience. Importantly we also need a framework that achieves cross-party consensus on the vision and this is something all parties must take a position on.'
