The Infrastructure Pipeline
• The National Infrastructure and Services Transformation Authority (NISTA) was formed on 1 April 2025, when HM Treasury (HMT) brought together the Infrastructure & Projects Authority (IPA) and the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC). It reports to both HMT and the Cabinet Office.
• NISTA publishes the Infrastructure Pipeline – a 10-year forward look of investment into major UK capital infrastructure. It was first published July 2025.
• The specific aim of the Pipeline is to provide information on committed infrastructure projects that are in construction or under development, financed either by the public or private sector.
• The wider aim of the Pipeline is to boost investor confidence, aid supply chain planning, and map future workforce needs.
• To achieve these goals the Pipeline provides descriptions of projects, including whole-life and annual cost projections, construction and procurement status, as well as whether the project has potential to utilise private financing or funding.
The March 2026 Update
• NISTA updated the pipeline 9 March 2026.
• To see the latest information in the Pipeline follow these links to the pipeline webpage, and the skills webpage. Pipeline data and workforce data can be found in the “Download and Links” sidebar on the pipeline webpage.
• The March 2026 update now includes some detail on the workforce demand required to deliver planned investment over the next five years, indicating that to deliver the planned investment in the Pipeline will require an estimated annual average workforce of between 621,000 and 697,000 over the next two years and between 629,000 and 706,000 over the next five years across all sectors.
The Railway Perspective
• The Pipeline has increased the number of projects/programmes listed under the “rail” subsector from 29 to 48. However, the Pipeline only has specific cost data for 12 of these projects/programmes.
• There is very little cost forecasting for rail projects beyond 2030. Potential projects during this period include Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) which does not have cost estimates. Government has previously stated that NPR has a £45 billion funding cap.
• The Pipeline’s workforce analysis suggests that to effectively carry out the rail projects/programmes listed there needs to be an estimated annual average railrelated workforce of between 41,227 and 44,473 over the next two years and between 51,923 and 56,027 over the next five years across the following “occupations”: Rail IT/Software, Rail project/commercial management, Rail support role/manager, and Rail engineering/operative roles. A breakdown of these roles can be found here.
Comparison of the Infrastructure Pipeline (Rail), July 2025 to March 2026
July 2025
March 2026
Major Projects: HS2, EWR, NPR and TRU
• HS2 is the only rail project listed as “fully funded” by the Pipeline. HS2 is currently undergoing a full project “reset.”
• HS2 cost profile:
• Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) is included in the Pipeline but there is no cost data connected to the project.
• East West Rail (EWR), the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) and the recent announcements from Transport for Wales, despite all having funding attached to them by recent Government announcements and budgets, do not have any cost data in the Pipeline. These three programmes of work are, according to the data, part of the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline (RNEP) – see following slides.
Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline (RNEP)
• NISTA has published details of the RNEP – with a single line showing total cost for the whole programme, and lines for individual schemes within the RNEP (but no cost data provided). RIA has campaigned for years for a clear and visible pipeline of enhancements projects to be regularly published since the RNEP was launched in 2019.
• The DfT provides data to NISTA to include in the Infrastructure Pipeline. Certain projects are allocated as being included in the RNEP in the “Public Notes” column of the all-data spreadsheet.
• RNEP portfolio value:
o This information can be found in the “Funds and Reg Settlements” tab of the Infrastructure Pipeline all-data spreadsheet.
• However, in the project specific data tab, there is no cost data attributed to individual projects outlined as being part of the RNEP.
Projects/Programmes listed as in the RNEP
• Improving performance on the West Coast (north)
• Improving performance on the West Coast (south)
• Adding Capacity at Oxford
• Reinstating passenger services to Portishead
• New schemes in Wales
• Midlands Rail Hub
• Reopening Haxby station
• Transpennine Route Upgrade
• Improving Leeds Station Programme
• Improving services in the Leeds area
• New station for Wellington
• Improving East Coast performance through digital signalling
• New station at Cullompton
• Reopening the Cowley Branch Line for passengers
• Darlington Station Improvements
• Transforming rail services across Manchester
• Electrification of the Poplar Lines
• A new station at Cambridge South
• East West Rail Bicester to Bletchley
• East West Rail to Cambridge
**Descriptions of each project/programme can be found in the Pipeline spreadsheets.
Infrastructure Pipeline
DfT rail projects, outside the RNEP
• There is no cost profile data attributed to DfT rail projects that are outside of the RNEP.
• The following projects/programmes are listed by the DfT, but are not attributed to the RNEP:
o Northern Powerhouse Rail
o New station at Wixams
o Redevelopment Euston Conventional Station (RECS)
o HS2 Euston Station Private Finance
o Low Earth Orbit Satellite – plans to fit the majority of DfT Operator mainline trains with satellite communications and upgrade existing on-train wifi equipment.
Engagement with ROSCOs and OEMs has provided the basis for cost modelling.
** Descriptions of each project/programme can be found in the Pipeline spreadsheets.
Infrastructure Pipeline
Devolved local authority rail projects
• Data was also provided for the pipeline by Greater London Authority, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA), Tees Valley CA (TVCA) and West of England CA (WECA).
Total cost data reported for devolved local authority rail-related projects:
across 11 projects)
• There is cost data reported for 11 of the 22 rail-related projects provided by devolved authorities and Transport for London.
Infrastructure Pipeline Non-DfT projects with
Infrastructure Pipeline
Non-DfT projects without cost profile data
• The following projects are listed in the Pipeline but do not have cost profile data:
o Darlington Station (TVCA)
o Docklands Light Railways: Thamesmead (TfL)
o Middlesbrough Railway Station Capacity Improvements (TVCA)
o Eaglescliffe to Northallerton Railway Line W12 Gauge Clearance (TVCA)
o West London Orbital (TfL)
o Bakerloo Line Extension (TfL)
o Rail Infrastructure Investment Package (TVCA)
o North Acton Station Improvements (TfL)
o Willesden Junction Station Improvements (TfL)
o Beam Park Station (TfL)
o New Bermondsey (TfL)
Summary
• The Pipeline should be updated again in 6 months time.
• This iteration contains nearly double the number of rail-related projects/programmes than the previous.
• Further, the inclusion of data from devolved authorities is growing, and we hope to see more engagement from other authorities in the next edition.
• However, the lack of cost forecasting data provided in the Pipeline is still concerning. We hope to see this addressed to boost investor confidence, aid supply chain planning, and map future workforce needs.
• RIA will continue to engage with NISTA on making the pipeline a better resource for businesses.