Background:

Although the above values hold true for ideal conditions, there are regions of space where a Starship can travel at speeds significantly higher than normal. These regions have been nicknamed "warp highways" after an ancient each transportation system. They can consist of broad areas encompassing a number of whole star systems, or narrow corridors which can extend for many thousands of light years.

The effect of a warp highway is to change the speed associated with any given warp factor according a multiplier known as Cochranes Value, which is highly variable from region to region. Shortly after Zephram Cochrane made his first warp flight the SS Valiant was able to use a warp highway, reaching the edge of the galaxy, a distance of some several thousand light years which otherwise would have taken the vessel many years to accomplish at modest warp factors. The most dramatic example of a warp highway is the one which existed between Nimbus III and the galactic core. In 2287 the Enterprise-A traveled this highway at Warp 7, covering the 22,000 light year distance to the core in just 6.8 hours - an average of 3,235 light years per hour. These phenomena are known to exist for a finite period of time; the one between Nimbus III and the Galactic core no longer exists, which is why the USS Voyager is unable to make use of it in her attempts to return from the other side of the galaxy.

Amongst their other properties, highways are notoriously difficult to detect and map - UFED has always put considerable effort into locating these regions, carrying out many mapping missions. Voyager has been partially able to overcome this difficulty with the use of advanced Astrometric sensors, which allowed the vessel to detect regions where the Cochrane Value would be slightly higher from many thousands of light years away, enabling the crew to cut five years off their journey time.

Since their discovery, the warp highways have been a crucial factor in the expansion of the Federation and other powers. They allow the journey time across known space to be cut from years or even decades down to a matter of days.