So... Just at the very time that the Japanese were starting to build their Shinkansen network - we had Transport Minister and motorway construction king, Earnest Marples - very ably assisted by his puppet, Beeching - slashing our railway network to pieces and ripping out our finest mainline from the Midlands to the Capital.
Had we electrified the London Extension of the Great Central Railway in the 1960's, instead of running it down and finally closing our newest and by far the best main line from the Midlands into London - we would have had a ready-made HS2
Stupid, stupid, stupid!!