Connecting the country: our long-term strategic plan to 2050
Our 2050 vision is that the Strategic Road Network (SRN) is part of a seamlessly-integrated transport system. This will meet our customers’ needs by connecting the country safely and reliably, delivering economic prosperity, social value and a thriving environment.
Connecting the country will inform our investment planning for each future Road Period toward 2050.
This long-term strategy is based on an analysis of available evidence to understand both historic and future trends. We've grouped this into 9 focus areas under 3 core themes:
- how much our customers will travel
- how our customers will experience travel
- how we will manage our network
Connecting the country introduces our future approach to the SRN. This involves defining routes by customer needs. We'll develop these categories in future, based on your feedback.
The proposed categories are currently:
- national corridors
- inter-regional routes
- regional connections
Connecting the country brings together our existing strategies, including:
Crucially, it also aligns our business and investment planning processes with wider government aspirations.
Thank you for your feedback
From 18 May to 11 August 2023, we asked you to give us your feedback on 'Connecting the country: our long-term strategic plan to 2050'.
Thank you for all the information you've given us.
Your views will help shape the final version of the plan, which we'll publish by 2025 (the end of the current Road Investment Strategy period).
In turn, this will inform our:
- Strategic Business Plan
- Delivery Plan
- finalised Route Strategy Overview Reports
Our approach
Our approach breaks down into three stages:
Trends
Horizon scanning to create a bank of ideas on the trends and possible events which will shape the future.
Visioning
Defining our ambitions for the future of our network and the service we provide to customers.
Delivery planning
Using mapping techniques to understand how trends combine over time and determine the steps we need to take to realise our vision.
Working with stakeholders
Achieving our vision relies on collaboration with local, regional, and national stakeholders.
Our plan is informed by their priorities and we intend it to sit coherently alongside their respective future plans, including those of:
- sub-national transport bodies
- city regions
- local authorities
- Network Rail
- port and airport operators
- government
Contact us
If you would like to know more about Connecting the country or anything else within the document, please email us at:
