A bold new vision for Scottish infrastructure delivery has been laid out by ACE Scotland, calling for systemic reform to unlock economic growth, attract private investment and overcome critical delivery bottlenecks. In its new manifesto, Delivering Infrastructure 2050, the group sets out a pragmatic and ambitious roadmap that places infrastructure at the heart of national productivity, resilience, and climate response.
For companies operating in Scotland’s rail and infrastructure sectors, the implications are clear: the opportunity is considerable—but only for those ready to align with a new strategic and delivery-focused approach.
Long-Term Strategy, Not Short-Term Cycles
The central proposition of ACE Scotland’s manifesto is the development of a long-term Infrastructure 2050 strategy, one that transcends parliamentary cycles and short-term budget planning. The report critiques the fragmented and reactive nature of current delivery mechanisms, which often operate within the constraints of annual public funding settlements. The result, it argues, is a chronic lack of investor confidence, fragmented procurement, and a system ill-equipped to meet the demands of an ageing infrastructure base and growing climate risk.
For rail businesses – many of which depend on multi-year delivery horizons – the promise of a clearer pipeline and stable governance model will be welcome. The Scottish Government’s Infrastructure Delivery Pipeline 2026 outlines £11.1bn of capital investment over four years, including the Rail Services Improvement and Decarbonisation Programme. But ACE warns that without a joined-up national strategy, projects will remain piecemeal and risk being undermined by delivery failures.
Infrastructure as Economic Catalyst
Infrastructure investment is presented as a primary lever for economic transformation. The manifesto urges the Scottish Government to treat infrastructure as a strategic national asset. In particular, ACE Scotland calls for infrastructure to be used to support place-based growth and regional equality—particularly relevant for rural and island communities, where transport and resilience often matter more than expansion.
Rail has a critical role to play here, particularly where transport access underpins economic participation. The manifesto highlights the need to integrate transport more closely with regional housing, skills and economic development policies. Devolving strategic infrastructure powers to new city-region combined authorities, starting with Glasgow, is central to this ambition.
Procurement and Planning Reform
At the coalface of project delivery, the manifesto zeroes in on procurement and planning reform. Scotland currently diverges from the rest of the UK by not adopting the UK Procurement Act 2023. ACE Scotland argues this dual regime is stifling competition, increasing bid costs, and deterring SME involvement. The call is for Scotland to align selectively with UK reforms where they add value and reduce friction.
Equally, the planning regime is called out as under-resourced and reactive. Delays in project approvals and the late involvement of engineering expertise have, according to the report, led to higher costs and stalled schemes. ACE wants to see expert input embedded earlier in business case development, along with enforceable build-out schedules and stronger “use it or lose it” powers to prevent land banking.
For rail suppliers and consultants, this presents both a challenge and a chance. Firms will need to invest earlier in capability development and actively engage with public sector clients during early-stage option appraisal if they are to shape and secure delivery.
Unlocking Private Investment
With public finances constrained, ACE argues Scotland must turn to private capital to fund infrastructure at pace. It proposes adopting a Scottish version of the Mutual Investment Model (MIM), already used successfully in Wales, to allow private sector involvement while maintaining public interest safeguards.
The Welsh model’s combination of competitive procurement, community benefit obligations, and public-private co-investment offers a potential path forward. For companies in rail and engineering, this signals a growing opportunity to participate in blended financing models—provided they can demonstrate whole-life value, delivery track record and innovation credentials.
Digitising the Pipeline
To improve confidence and visibility, ACE wants the Scottish infrastructure pipeline digitised and made interactive. This platform would enable users to track projects by region, sector and delivery stage, helping firms plan recruitment and investment decisions with greater certainty.
For rail, where design and delivery timelines are often long and interconnected with other infrastructure upgrades, the ability to visualise future projects geographically and sectorally would be a game-changer. It would also support SMEs in identifying procurement opportunities earlier in the cycle.
Tackling the Skills Crunch
A chronic shortage of engineers and technical professionals is one of the report’s starkest warnings. The skills gap is particularly acute across transport, roads, energy and water sectors, with insufficient linkages between education and employment.
To address this, ACE calls for a national engineering skills audit, a reinvigoration of the technical college system, and a national recruitment campaign akin to the Army’s “Be the Best” initiative. For industry, this will require a proactive approach to apprenticeship development, early engagement with education providers, and a willingness to help shape national training priorities.
Firms that can demonstrate a commitment to upskilling, diversity in recruitment, and secure career progression for young engineers will be best placed to benefit from future infrastructure expansion.
Supporting Net Zero and Nature Recovery
The manifesto places energy resilience and environmental regeneration on equal footing with economic growth. It argues that infrastructure must be designed to support net zero, climate resilience, and biodiversity, with national guidance requiring integration of ecological connectivity and marine restoration into major projects.
Rail companies will need to align with this agenda, embedding sustainability, whole-life carbon accounting, and nature-positive design principles into their bids and project delivery frameworks. In an increasingly competitive procurement environment, environmental credentials are becoming commercially critical.
What Happens Next?
For Scotland’s rail industry, the ACE Scotland manifesto is a blueprint for more effective infrastructure delivery—but it is also a call to action. If adopted, the proposed reforms could catalyse significant growth in rail investment and delivery across the country.
But that growth will not be evenly distributed, nor will it benefit businesses that fail to adapt. To seize the opportunities ahead, rail and infrastructure businesses must:
- Align their bids and delivery approaches with long-term strategic goals, particularly around decarbonisation and resilience.
- Invest in earlier-stage design and consultancy capability to influence upstream planning.
- Prepare for new models of funding, including co-investment frameworks like the proposed Scottish MIM.
- Actively support recruitment, training and skills development in engineering, especially among under-represented groups.
- Engage in regional governance and city-region development initiatives as they emerge.
The manifesto’s final message is clear: Scotland doesn’t lack ambition, but delivery must now catch up. Industry has a critical role to play – not just in delivering infrastructure, but in shaping the systems and capabilities that make delivery possible. For the rail sector, the challenge is urgent, the roadmap is clear, and the window for action is now.
