Transport order reforms laid before Parliament on Friday 30 October 2026 will shorten the objection period for Transport and Works Act applications in England from 42 days to 30. The changes are contained in a new statutory instrument made on 27 October, and are due to come into force on 20 November 2026.
The rules apply to applications for orders authorising transport and related infrastructure, including railways, tramways and certain inland waterway works. They also establish new procedures for deemed heritage and marine consents and shorter timetables for inquiries and decisions. Wales is covered by parts of the legislation, but importantly retains its 42-day objection period.
For applicants, councils and anyone affected by a proposed route, the dates matter as much as the headlines. Transport order reforms will change the time available to respond to schemes and the information developers must supply. A companion instrument introduces powers for specified public bodies to recover costs, so I would check both measures when planning a new application.
What transport order reforms actually change
The main instrument is the Transport and Works (Applications, Objections, Listed Buildings, Inquiries and Decisions Procedure) (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/1143. It was made on 27 October and laid on 30 October, with commencement fixed for 20 November. This is made legislation awaiting commencement, not a consultation or a proposal that still needs a ministerial decision.
It amends the existing 2006 application and objection rules, the 2004 inquiry procedure rules, and the 1992 heritage procedure regulations. The changes concern the Transport and Works Act 1992 process. They must not be confused with the separate Planning Act 2008 regime for nationally significant infrastructure projects, which I explain in the National Policy Statements guide.
England gets 30 days to object, but Wales retains 42
For an application within the new rules, the objection period in England falls from 42 days to 30. In Wales the 42-day period is unchanged. The legislation itself puts the distinction plainly: 30 days (in relation to England) or 42 days (in relation to Wales)
. That wording appears in regulation 4 of SI 2026/1143, rather than in an informal departmental announcement.
The new definition also requires the objection deadline to fall on a working day. Where the 30 or 42-day period otherwise ends on a weekend or specified holiday, it carries over to the next working day. Transport order reforms therefore alter both the ordinary response window and how its final date is calculated. A published notice should still be read carefully for the applicable closing date.
The Secretary of State’s period for determining how an application with objections will be handled is also reduced in the amended rules, from 28 to 14 days. The period for some exchanges of written representations becomes shorter too. These measures should speed up procedural decisions, but they make it more important for landowners and community groups to organise evidence early.
Public inquiries and final decisions get tighter timetables
Transport order reforms introduce an expectation that an inquiry in England must close within three months after it starts. The inspector can vary or suspend that closure date with the Secretary of State’s consent. There are also new time limits for reporting after an inquiry and for the Secretary of State to determine the application, subject to express provisions allowing additional time.
The period for circulating the Secretary of State’s statement of matters before an inquiry falls from 12 weeks to 10. Where the regulations set a three-month decision period, its starting point depends on the route taken: for example, it may run from receipt of an inspector’s report or from later additional information. It would be wrong to promise every project a final answer three months after application.
Where no relevant objections are received, or the statutory conditions for certain other routes are met, the amended 2006 rules provide a three-month determination period calculated from the specified trigger. Applicants should prepare for shorter procedural stages without assuming that extensions or requests for information have disappeared. Objectors also need to watch the formal notices, not simply the broad timetable.
Marine licences and listed building consent can be dealt with together
The new rules give effect to provisions allowing certain consents to be dealt with through the transport order process. Applications can include requests for deemed marine licences, deemed listed building consent and, in the Welsh context specified by the Act, deemed conservation area consent. These are specified consent mechanisms, not a blanket exemption from heritage or environmental assessment.
For a proposed deemed marine licence, applicants must consult the Marine Management Organisation for England or Natural Resources Wales for Wales before submitting the prescribed pre-application material. A draft marine licence must be sent to the relevant body at least 28 days before the application. Environmental information and proposed conditions must accompany the request.
Heritage requests also require a written description of the works and proposed conditions. In England the specified material includes a design and access statement; in Wales it includes a heritage impact statement under Welsh regulations. This is a practical point for promoters whose works affect listed structures, bridges or stations. The related deemed planning permission guide explains another distinct consent mechanism, not a substitute for these heritage requirements.
Separate regulations introduce a cost-recovery regime
A companion instrument, the Transport Infrastructure (Fees) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/1137, was made on 26 October, laid on 30 October and also comes into force on 20 November. It lets specified authorities charge for relevant services on qualifying highways and Transport and Works Act schemes, with defined territorial limits. It is not an unrestricted power to bill applicants.
For Transport and Works Act applications, the new charging provisions apply in England and to relevant cross-border orders, not to every wholly Welsh project. Listed authorities include bodies such as the Environment Agency, Natural England, the Marine Management Organisation and specified local authorities. Any charge must follow a statement published on the authority’s website and must not exceed reasonably incurred or anticipated costs.
Authorities may provide estimates, require advance payment, allow instalments and waive or refund fees. A fee notice must allow at least 21 days for payment; non-payment can have consequences for services not yet provided. Transport order reforms are therefore accompanied by a financial consideration for programme planning, even though the fees instrument does not itself set one universal application charge.
Which applications fall under the new rules?
The transitional provisions need particular attention. The procedural instrument generally applies in full to relevant Transport and Works Act applications made on or after 20 November 2026. For an earlier application that has not reached the defined notice stage, only the specified inquiry-rule amendments apply. Other earlier applications remain under the previous procedure. These dates must be checked from the formal application record.
The fees instrument separately excludes Transport and Works Act applications made before 20 November from its new Part 3 charging regime. Different transitional rules apply to highways orders and schemes. In short, the fact that a project is still being considered in late November does not by itself tell you which version of the procedure or charging regime applies.
What applicants, councils and objectors should do now
I would start with the application date and statutory route, then identify the nation in which the works take place and the specific consents requested. For an English transport order lodged under the new rules, set the 30-day response period at the outset and verify the working-day calculation. For Wales, keep the 42-day window and check which inquiry provisions actually extend there.
Applicants should also identify affected land interests, statutory consultees, heritage assets and any marine works early. More of the required material can now travel with the main order application, but the accelerated stages leave less room to recover missing documents. Planning Geek’s guide to diverting a public footpath or road sets out related issues that may arise where infrastructure affects rights of way.
Transport order reforms are significant because they change procedural rights and deadlines before any physical work begins. The 20 November start date is the one to circle, but it is the detailed transitional wording that decides how an individual scheme is treated. Read both original statutory instruments and the Department for Transport’s updated guide before relying on a shorter timetable.
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