Trade Lane

Trade lanes are used for superluminal travel within a system. Trade lanes must be entered from their origin point, usually located near key industrial, military or civilian bases or jump gates leading to other systems. The equivalent top speed when traveling through a trade lane (measured by an outsider) is around 2000 m/sec, but your ship itself is moving much slower. This is because the trade lanes work by bending space itself between the rings to make the distance shorter, and explains why a single ring cannot accelerate you - high speed travel is only possible between existing pairs of rings.

History
The first trade lane was established through a joint venture between Monument Engineering and Valhalla Research in the year 280 A.S. By 350 A.S., most of Liberty space was crisscrossed by trade lanes. Through financing from Interspace Commerce, the trade lane network was rapidly extended into the other colonies, helping to create a truly sector-wide economy. Trade lanes are the fastest and safest method of transporting commodities and personnel within and between the colonies. Plans to expand the trade lanes to connect interests in the independent territories outside of the colonies in the Border Worlds are pending as seen in Tau-31 trade lane construction site.