17 December 2025
Commenting on the publication of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) interim report into the civil engineering sector for public road and rail infrastructure, Railway Industry Association (RIA) Chief Executive Darren Caplan said: "This interim report reflects concerns RIA has been raising for many years around the health of the market for UK rail suppliers. The competition watchdog says that the rail infrastructure civil engineering market is caught in a negative cycle of short-termism and volatility which has resulted in increased costs and project delays. These findings are a reminder for Ministers and the National Infrastructure Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) that Government has an important role as ‘market maker’, and on the need to refocus on providing long-term stability to improve opportunities and incentives both for public authorities and the supply chain to plan and invest."