Only the 318 in question, however, are close enough to the Milky Way for the predicted galactic speed limit not to have been imposed (300m light years may sound a long way, but it is a short hop on the cosmic scale).
And according to people familiar with High Speed Two, its economics are rather flaccid: every pound invested in high-speed rail is predicted to generate only around two pounds' worth of benefit (measured in time savings, the extra journeys that will be facilitated, reduced congestion on roads and so on).