Ridiculous Train Travel Mistakes

[Crossover]

If they wanted to go to Liverpool, why not tell them to catch the Crewe train at Stoke ? Surely that would be quicker ?

Guard looked at that and they had missed the EMT by about 10 mins (had we been on time) or so and the LM train had been delayed directly in front of us too and it worked out quicker to get the train back to Stafford and continue from there (the guard checked it on his machine) - going direct to Crewe had crossed my mind and I did look at it myself. I was thinking (for them best case scenario) that had the problem been so bad that they could get through Norton Bridge we may be diverted via Crewe (as we running express through Macc)

Had they definitely missed their connection at Stoke I may have suggested they speak to a member of station staff as going direct to Crewe would have probably been quicker, but the need didn't arise

 

[Bittern]

...And we're the people who's supposed to know the railway inside out. Dear God.

 

[Crossover]

...And we're the people who's supposed to know the railway inside out. Dear God.

I never aspire to do...always try and help though

 

[Welshman]

I suspect many people have made the same mistake at Norwich, especially as they often leave from adjacent platforms

Interesting that last time I travelled on EMT from Norwich, the conductor was at pains to stress before we started that this is the "LIVERPOOL - MERSEYSIDE" train.

He'd obviously come across a few before!

 

[The175]

I've known passengers who have confused station names before... Borth & Porth, Newtown & Newport, Pensarn with Abergele & Pensarn are semi-regluar mistakes. Then there was the family who were going on holiday to Towyn on the north Wales coast and decided to go by rail... "Family ticket to Tywyn, please!"

My favourite though is the lady who joined the 1609 Birmingham International to Aberystwyth & Barmouth (Friday only) at Shrewsbury (originally from Severn Tunnel Junction), heading for what she thought was a Cambrian Coast station. Cue my massive double take on reading the name 'Leuchars' on the ticket.
"Well, it's up near Barmouth isn't it? I looked on a map and everything."
Assuming she'd got the wrong name when buying the ticket, she dug out some paperwork with an address on and had a quick read through...
"Scotland?" <Pause> "SCOTLAND?!" Priceless

 

[YorkshireBear]

I've known passengers who have confused station names before... Borth & Porth, Newtown & Newport, Pensarn with Abergele & Pensarn are semi-regluar mistakes. Then there was the family who were going on holiday to Towyn on the north Wales coast and decided to go by rail... "Family ticket to Tywyn, please!"

My favourite though is the lady who joined the 1609 Birmingham International to Aberystwyth & Barmouth (Friday only) at Shrewsbury (originally from Severn Tunnel Junction), heading for what she thought was a Cambrian Coast station. Cue my massive double take on reading the name 'Leuchars' on the ticket.
"Well, it's up near Barmouth isn't it? I looked on a map and everything."
Assuming she'd got the wrong name when buying the ticket, she dug out some paperwork with an address on and had a quick read through...
"Scotland?" <Pause> "SCOTLAND?!" Priceless

what the hell did she do!?

 

[table38]

I've known passengers who have confused station names before...

A good many years ago, whilst Transpennine services were running from Victoria rather than Piccadilly, I encountered a few people at Stalybridge who meant to go to Smithy Bridge...

 

[Eagle]

Cue my massive double take on reading the name 'Leuchars' on the ticket.
"Well, it's up near Barmouth isn't it? I looked on a map and everything."

What on earth did she see on a map? The only place I can think of that's remotely like Leuchars is Loughor/Llwchwr, which is just west of Swansea.

 

[The175]

what the hell did she do!?

Last I saw of her was getting off at Caersws to set off back to Shrewsbury. I would assume up to Crewe and see what happened from there, whether it be VT or sleeper.

What on earth did she see on a map? The only place I can think of that's remotely like Leuchars is Loughor/Llwchwr, which is just west of Swansea.

Off the top of my head I think there are 5 stations on the Cambrian beginning with an 'L' (any experts here feel free to prove me wrong!), but none of them similar to Leuchars. Even then it boggles the mind she missed the word 'Scotland' on the address of her destination!

 

[Yew]

If they put the robin hood line extension in place, its possible we could have Worksop and Warsop on the same line , one splitting to Warsop (and hopefully to ollerton) and the other going to ahead to Worksop.....

 

[YorkshireBear]

If they put the robin hood line extension in place, its possible we could have Worksop and Warsop on the same line , one splitting to Warsop (and hopefully to ollerton) and the other going to ahead to Worksop.....

recipe for didaster there my friend!

 

[HST Power]

I've never made any serious mistakes before, but one time I was at Potters Bar awaiting the 1551 to Peterborough. The train was delayed by seven minutes, but suddenly, a 317 pulls up on P4 and I stupidly thought that it was the train, and the delay rumors were a farce. So I got on. It was the 1555 to WGC.

Luckily, we made it to WGC on time and ahead of the 1551, so I didn't miss it after all!

 

[YorkshireBear]

I've never made any serious mistakes before, but one time I was at Potters Bar awaiting the 1551 to Peterborough. The train was delayed by seven minutes, but suddenly, a 317 pulls up on P4 and I stupidly thought that it was the train, and the delay rumors were a farce. So I got on. It was the 1555 to WGC.

Luckily, we made it to WGC on time and ahead of the 1551, so I didn't miss it after all!

I dont things like that before in sheffield got on express instead of local but luckily they both stop at first stop meadowhall so just get off and wait for it to roll up behind.

 

[Minilad]

Redditch and Reading is a common one.
When I worked in Redditch ticket office for around a year I had 4 or 5 people looking confused wanting to know how they got to Reading having just got off the x-city from Brum !!

 

[SS4]

Good choice of team by the way.

Seconded.

I don't have any interesting ones, there was one on an LM from EUS-BHM when some bloke was standing by the doors at Leighton Buzzard didn't press the open door button and, as you may expect, the train carried on without him! Although he only ended up at Bletchley (iirc)

 

[Welshman]

I had a friend who worked in Nottingham and spent the weekends at his home in Mottingham.
He told me how he used to get a few raised eyebrows from the ticket clerk when booking his return ticket!

 

[YorkshireBear]

I had a friend who worked in Nottingham and spent the weekends at his home in Mottingham.
He told me how he used to get a few raised eyebrows from the ticket clerk when booking his return ticket!

That is fantastic! never realised there was a place called that,

i often see shenfield and see sheffield....

 

[thewolf]

All this about similarly named places reminds me - A month or two ago, when buying a ticket from Selly Oak, I was greeted with a blank look from the chap in the ticket office when I asked for a single to Hamstead (another LM station, in the same city and about a 30 minute journey away).

'Is that South Hampstead you're after?', he asked.

'No... Hamstead'

'Where's that then?'

'Birmingham, on the Walsall line'

'Oh, I didn't know there was a Hamstead in Birmingham'

Not the first time it had happened either, I find it unbelievable how staff can be apparently unaware of stations just a few miles away in the same city!

 

[RailwayDan]

This happened last Sunday. I was traveling on a 1st advance ticket from East Midlands Parkway to London St Pancras on a HST.

A young woman gets on at Leicester and sits in the next unoccupied table, the train manager glances at her ticket and walks off. We then passed Market Harborough, Kettering, Wellingborough, Bedford then Luton Airport Parkway.

When the announcement is 'Next and final stop - London St. Pancras' the young lady turns round and asks me 'Does this train stop at Birmingham?!'

Before I could reply, the Customer Host (who has having a break in the next table along) stood up and couldn't believe the story! He then called the Train Manager through and asked him how could he possibly have accepted a First Advance ticket for Preston(?!!) Yes, Preston from Leicester on the HST to London.

Long story long, the train manager issued some sort of ticket to show to the barrier staff at St. Pancras, and I assume she would have had to go to Euston to get on the WCML back to Preston.

By anyone's book that's a pretty hefty detour. This girl's geography must have been pretty poor as after every station that manager announced 'this is the XXXX train to London St. Pancras'! Seemingly the alarm bells only started to ring when London was the final stop!

 

[Bittern]

She possibly, and most likely, didn't know the area. You can't expect everyone to know that Kettering (somewhere I've never even heard of, actually) is before or after Birmingham.

 

[RailwayDan]

She possibly, and most likely, didn't know the area. You can't expect everyone to know that Kettering (somewhere I've never even heard of, actually) is before or after Birmingham.

True, but as her final destination was Preston, then it was probably most likely that the train going to London would not be traveling in the right direction.

I travel on trains a fair bit, so usually I know where they're going, but I always check the departure/platform boards to make sure. It was quite clear that she didn't in this case, but she seemed like a nice girl, so didn't deserve to make a mistake like that. In either case, I'm sure she made it to her destination alright.

 

[philjo]

All this about similarly named places reminds me - A month or two ago, when buying a ticket from Selly Oak, I was greeted with a blank look from the chap in the ticket office when I asked for a single to Hamstead (another LM station, in the same city and about a 30 minute journey away).

'Is that South Hampstead you're after?', he asked.

'No... Hamstead'

'Where's that then?'

'Birmingham, on the Walsall line'

'Oh, I didn't know there was a Hamstead in Birmingham'

Not the first time it had happened either, I find it unbelievable how staff can be apparently unaware of stations just a few miles away in the same city!

I was travelling on WSMR from Shrewsbury last year on a ticket to Potters Bar & was told to change at Tame Bridge Parkway - I queried this & said I was going via Marylebone & Kings Cross - turns out he had confused Potters Bar with Perry Bar !

 

[PaulLothian]

This girl's geography must have been pretty poor ...

I think you'll find that most people's knowledge of geography is pretty poor, particularly once they move away from their home area. Funnily enough, although the British press regularly report surveys showing the abysmal ignorance of world geography shown by American students, they don't seem to try the same surveys on British students.

Our shared interest in railways probably puts us at the top of the geography class.

 

[Deerfold]

I think you'll find that most people's knowledge of geography is pretty poor, particularly once they move away from their home area. Funnily enough, although the British press regularly report surveys showing the abysmal ignorance of world geography shown by American students, they don't seem to try the same surveys on British students.

Our shared interest in railways probably puts us at the top of the geography class.

I had a resonable grasp of British Geography anyway but then had a job with a bank where forms for customers all over the country needed to be sent to a gonvernment office which varied dependant upon which local authority they were in - this sharpened me up a lot. Although I was surprised by how many colleagues who'd been there for years used to ask me about some of the odder ones.

I was then quite lucky - my first job in London involved 6 weeks of travelling to sites all over London which helped sharpen my London geography.

 

[PinzaC55]

I was once working aYork- Liverpool train having just stopped at Oxford Road and had an oriental guy with a return to Doncaster. I asked where he was going and he said "RONCASTER". I told him several times he was on the wrong train till I figured out he wanted to go to LANCASTER. I chucked him off at Birchwood with instructions to go back and get his ticket changed.
I guess he is still out there travelling.............:roll:

 

[YorkshireBear]

I think you'll find that most people's knowledge of geography is pretty poor, particularly once they move away from their home area. Funnily enough, although the British press regularly report surveys showing the abysmal ignorance of world geography shown by American students, they don't seem to try the same surveys on British students.

Our shared interest in railways probably puts us at the top of the geography class.

It is poor alot of my friends have no idea where places are even places like bristol and cardiff, and my knowledge fo railways increased my grography from pretty good to excellent (on my degree anyway) people from the UK ive never not known where there from ever. (not down to village level obviously)

However if anyone came from the south east i would be screwed but luck has been on my side :P

My mates sister went from sheffield to worksop the other day (lived in sheffield all 18 years of her life!) and got on a train to leeds instead thinking it was down south somewhere.

 

[philjo]

My mates sister went from sheffield to worksop the other day (lived in sheffield all 18 years of her life!) and got on a train to leeds instead thinking it was down south somewhere.

Well, Leeds Castle is in Kent !

 

[Chapeltom]

I think you'll find that most people's knowledge of geography is pretty poor, particularly once they move away from their home area. Funnily enough, although the British press regularly report surveys showing the abysmal ignorance of world geography shown by American students, they don't seem to try the same surveys on British students.

Our shared interest in railways probably puts us at the top of the geography class.

I concur! I've been to some places and told people and they've not a clue where I've been going looking at me and saying where? Few examples Barrow in Furness, Gainsborough, Stone, Conwy, Bootle, Burscough to name just a few! It is only until I opened a Google Map shot of the North that one lad went "Bloody hell I didn't realise Sheffield was over there!".

People's geography skills are ridiculously bad, I only know 2 people, one is my Dad and the other is a mate of mine who actually have a vague idea of where a lot of places are on a map.

Americans can be bad but most Brits? Awful bordering on pathetic. I'm lucky I actually have a very decent grasp of geography and indeed placing places on the map and I'm thankful for it.

 

[RailwayDan]

People's geography skills are ridiculously bad, I only know 2 people, one is my Dad and the other is a mate of mine who actually have a vague idea of where a lot of places are on a map.

Americans can be bad but most Brits? Awful bordering on pathetic. I'm lucky I actually have a very decent grasp of geography and indeed placing places on the map and I'm thankful for it.

Seeing as we're on Americans, I remember reading this story when the NFL came to play a game at Wembley. One of the linebackers said that he didn't know they spoke english in London, nor where London was! Despite traveling thousands of miles across the Atlantic to get there....

This article on Sky News is worth a read if you like stories like that - http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Sky-News-Archive/Article/20080641290248?f=rss

 

[Deerfold]

Well, Leeds Castle is in Kent !

Near Leeds...

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=lee...36696,-4.042969&sspn=18.451717,39.418945&z=14