Train speed record set between London and Bristol

I have looked into taking Amtrak several times, but it takes 2-3x as long as driving, 5-10x as long as flying, is more expensive than both, and has far fewer destinations. It's a hard sell for anything other than taking a train for the experience or short distances. Trains should be cheaper than airplanes and faster than cars, but they're neither in the US...

So, plan was APT - a 155mph tilting modern electric, and HST - a 125mph diesel for lines that needed uprating or electrification (most of them), only temporarily. Plans for a Channel tunnel were resurrected and agreed. The French SNCF was just getting on with building TGV, with enough funding to build a network fit for purpose.

Thatcher threatened APT with cancellation, so there was a far too early demo, that went infamously poorly. HSTs were rolled out. A year or two later APT was quietly ready for service. Thatcher sold everything to Fiat, complete with patents. That's not the end of that story.

HST is limited to 90 and 110mph across most of the network as it's not up to 125mph. Bits of East Coast can have it run as designed.

Many years later, UK train companies want to buy Pendelino, an Italian tilting train to modernise the network. Pendelino is the descendent of APT we sold off.

West Coast main line - one of Europe's busiest - finally finished upgrade, ready for 150mph Pendelino. Except to HST suitable speeds - 125mph in the 2010s! We now have 150mph capable trains limited to 125mph.

Yep, most definitely gonna stay that way.