CBI calls for a further £70bn investment in transport

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has today (Monday) called for an extra £70bn of investment over the next decade to improve Britain's ailing transport infrastructure.

According to the business lobby group, government plans for around £180bn of public and private spending "will not prove sufficient".

CBI chief Digby Jones warned that business patience and public tolerance "is becoming exhausted by the slow pace of improvements" and that the original 10 Year Plan was "full of promise but four years and £50bn later there remain profound deficiencies in the UK transport system".

The CBI also warned that the level of spending set out in the government's 10-year plan is the "minimum required to make acceptable progress".

Delivering a transport system to rival the best in Europe remains a dim prospect and would cost a great deal more, it added.

In the short term, ministers were urged by CBI to increase transport investment by an extra £2.7bn between 2005 and 2008, the three financial years covered by the current public spending review.

But over the longer term, the CBI said a "significant step-change" in investment is needed, with an additional £21bn required during the three financial years between 2008 and 2011 and a further £100bn needed overall between 2011 and 2015.

On roads, the CBI called for the widening of the M1, M6 and M25.

The group also voiced its support for a quick decision in favour of London's Crossrail project

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