UK Progress Atlas
UK project milestones, investment, science, healthcare and nature restoration.
Highway and trial-hole works have started for the new single-platform station beside Alexandra Hospital. Stockport Council says rail-industry assessment resolved a timetabling obstacle; the wider station remains under construction.
The Department for Transport has approved the platform-height exemption needed for level boarding at Elizabeth line platforms 5–8 at Old Oak Common. HS2 will lower the tracks using slab track so passengers can board without a step. This is a design approval for the station under construction; the interchange has not opened.
HS2 has completed the structure of Westbury viaduct across the Great Ouse floodplain near Brackley. Its double-composite design combines concrete and steel to reduce material use. Removal of temporary hardstanding and landscaping remain; the new railway is not yet operating.
More developments
The rail regulator has authorised Salford Crescent’s new 157-metre third platform, extended footbridge and lift. The approval confirms that the upgraded infrastructure meets the required standards ahead of passenger use later this year; it is not an opening announcement.
The Ministry of Defence has extended Airbus’s A400M maintenance and support contract by 31 months to April 2029. The £190m agreement sustains more than 350 UK jobs and targets an increase from 10 to 13 mission-capable aircraft available each day by the end of 2027. The increased availability is a future target, not a result already delivered.
Believ is set to deliver 5,585 public EV charge points across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough after Peterborough’s Cabinet approved a 15-year contract on 1 October. The rollout covers 1,058 points in Peterborough and 4,527 in Cambridgeshire, supported by £5.4m of public LEVI funding and private investment. Installations are planned to begin in 2027, following the remaining procurement steps, site surveys and community engagement.
Construction is under way on Greater Manchester’s first new station in more than 25 years. The accessible two-platform station is expected to open in spring 2028.
More than 30 zero-emission machines are working on the crossing across Kent and Essex. National Highways expects the fleet to grow to around 150 at peak construction in 2028.
Roadchef has signed an agreement to bring bp pulse ultra-fast charging to more than 30 motorway service areas from 2027. The rollout supports Roadchef’s wider commitment to provide 1,000 EV charging bays across its estate by 2030. The number of bp chargers covered by the agreement has not been disclosed.
Work has started on a £53m refurbishment of RAF Waddington’s aircraft bays, taxiways, drainage and approach lighting. The project is intended to improve resilience at the RAF’s principal ISTAR base and is expected to finish in summer 2028.
The government committed £50m over three years to improve the existing Euston station, with an initial £11m for additional seating, better waiting areas and refurbished toilets. The package is distinct from the larger HS2 terminus and station-campus redevelopment.
TfL confirms that Oxford Street between Orchard Street and Great Portland Street will become traffic free on 26 October 2026. Preparatory works are under way; the initial traffic-free phase is distinct from completion of the permanent streetscape.