The wrong Peckham

[duncanp]

There is a village called Stansted in Kent, which does sometimes get people turning up looking for the airport.

Then in London you have the following stations with similar sounding names which are nowhere near each other

Blackhorse Road and Blackhorse Lane
St James Street and St James Park
Edgware and Edgware Road

 

[Class 170101]

How about Alresford Essex and Alresford nr Alton?
or
Hythe Essex and Hythe Kent?

 

[yorksrob]

Alas, Hythe, Kent hasn't troubled passengers on the National rail network for about sixty five years !

 

[Class 170101]

Alas, Hythe, Kent hasn't troubled passengers on the National rail network for about sixty five years !

Don't forget the narrow guarge railway there.

 

[yorksrob]

Don't forget the narrow guarge railway there.

Indeed, at least the small trains would be a clue

 

[grumblingalong]

Indeed, at least the small trains would be a clue

You'd think so, but get on a Felixstowe bound Class 153 Scud on platform 2 at Ipswich and wait to see how long it takes someone to ask the guard whether it's the London train :roll:

 

[matthewluck]

Clearly being dishonest? Really? I can get an £11 single ticket from Brighton to Liverpool, and a £9 single from St Pancras to Sheffield. Why should I not presume that £9 St Pancras to Hadfield is not an appropriate fare? Especially as, having bought at the ticket office before boarding the train, I have technically bought "in Advance".

I ask for a ticket. I get sold a ticket. I leave the ticket office and get on the train. Why should I then be arrested for it?

The person I am talking about had a walk up ticket, not an advance.

It was obvious from his conversation with the guard that he intended to avoid paying the correct fare.

So DeeGee is it possible to buy a £9 ticket on the day without booking in advance ?

 

[silverfoxcc]

Not rail related, but does go to show that idiots are not a new occurence . When i worked at BT in West London we had a rather inept Sales Rep, who finally snapped the patience of the Boss.
He rang the poor sap and told him to attend the office first thing the next day.

Come 10.30 next day and no sign of Tim but dim. when the phone went.

Tim Where do you want me to meet you? i have waiting since 7.30.
This statemant puzzled the guv.

Guv. I havent seen you, just come staight up to my office NOW!
Tim Are you in your office??
Guv Where Else?
Tim Well i'll be about two hours
Guv WHAAT? Why?? ( BP now going about 200/100)
Tim it will take that long to drive back
Guv Where The F*** are you?
Tim On the sea Front
Guv What the hell are you doing there
Tim Didnt you tell me you wanted to see me in Bright and early tomorrow, so i drove down last night.

He left that pm

 

[yorksrob]

You'd think so, but get on a Felixstowe bound Class 153 Scud on platform 2 at Ipswich and wait to see how long it takes someone to ask the guard whether it's the London train :roll:

Well, a 153 is a full sized railcar. It's perhaps not so far fetched to imagine it filling in for a London service (particularly given outer suburban units have been known to fill in for ECML InterCity services in the past). I would expect it to get a little cosy though!

 

[332 > 444]

I had this the other day checking tickets: a group of scots had Heathrow Rail - London Paddington but one of them had Heath Low Level, I ask where's your Heathrow ticket and she thought I was joking until I said that her friend's ticket says Heathrow Rail but this one is Heath Low Level and £218!!

Her friends actually started to rip the **** out of her one of them was like let's just send her there anyway, I think she was the butt of all jokes that day. I didn't bother sell her a correct ticket, I had my laugh for that day

 

[JoeGJ1984]

Then in London you have the following stations with similar sounding names which are nowhere near each other

Blackhorse Road and Blackhorse Lane
St James Street and St James Park
Edgware and Edgware Road

There's also St Margarets in Hertfordshire and St Margarets in South West London. The former is outside the London zones, but ISTR the London Connections map including both St Margarets. They are miles apart.

 

[swt_passenger]

The chap at Swanwick (Hants) was telling me a couple of years ago that he sees a few people who have mistakenly arrived, while trying to reach some religious conference centre in Derbyshire for which the nearest station is the Swanwick on the preserved Midland Railway, Butterley...

 

[EbbwJunction1]

Quite a few years ago, I was going from Newport in South Wales to Harlech in North Wales for a Boys' Brigade camp.

One of my fellow officers was in charge of the transport and he told me that he's asked the coach driver what route he was taking. The reply was "well, along to the M4, around London and then up the M whatever it was" ... he thought that he was going to Harwich!

 

[dave12435]

Add that there are St Margarets Bay and St Margartes at Cliffe down near me

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Not rail related, but does go to show that idiots are not a new occurence . When i worked at BT in West London we had a rather inept Sales Rep, who finally snapped the patience of the Boss.
He rang the poor sap and told him to attend the office first thing the next day.

Come 10.30 next day and no sign of Tim but dim. when the phone went.

Tim Where do you want me to meet you? i have waiting since 7.30.
This statemant puzzled the guv.

Guv. I havent seen you, just come staight up to my office NOW!
Tim Are you in your office??
Guv Where Else?
Tim Well i'll be about two hours
Guv WHAAT? Why?? ( BP now going about 200/100)
Tim it will take that long to drive back
Guv Where The F*** are you?
Tim On the sea Front
Guv What the hell are you doing there
Tim Didnt you tell me you wanted to see me in Bright and early tomorrow, so i drove down last night.

He left that pm

A mistake as glaring as that rings alarm bells for autism rather than solely stupidity...

I had this the other day checking tickets: a group of scots had Heathrow Rail - London Paddington but one of them had Heath Low Level, I ask where's your Heathrow ticket and she thought I was joking until I said that her friend's ticket says Heathrow Rail but this one is Heath Low Level and £218!!

Her friends actually started to rip the **** out of her one of them was like let's just send her there anyway, I think she was the butt of all jokes that day. I didn't bother sell her a correct ticket, I had my laugh for that day

A sensible use of discretion, if I may say so...
Upthread, the two Adlingtons were mentioned. I'll be expecting similar tales on here when Apperley Bridge opens...

 

[Antman]

How about Alresford Essex and Alresford nr Alton?
or
Hythe Essex and Hythe Kent?

There is also New Hythe in Kent which is nowhere near either of the above

 

[DeeGee]

The person I am talking about had a walk up ticket, not an advance.

It was obvious from his conversation with the guard that he intended to avoid paying the correct fare.

So DeeGee is it possible to buy a £9 ticket on the day without booking in advance ?

Fair dos.

 

[LBSCR Times]

Just after Lyndhurst Road was renamed Ashurst (New Forest), a family traveling from Clapham Junction arrived at Ashurst (Kent), on the last train of the evening southbound. They had gone to the Central side at Clapham, so staff directed them accordingly....
We did stop the empties back from Uckfield for them, and they ended up in the 01.05 ex Waterloo, as far as Southampton, and left to make their own way from there.

 

[sd0733]

Had one on my train once from Crewe to Hartford after connecting from a virgin service from London. Actually wanted Hertford North!
Would have thought a simple check when told would take 3 hours plus for a local journey but obviously not!
Also had a foreign couple travelling from Chester to Shenfield, they made it to London ok but were then sent to Liverpool rather than Liverpool Street at Euston, bit of a detour.

 

[SpacePhoenix]

There is also New Hythe in Kent which is nowhere near either of the above

There is also a Hythe in Hampshire

 

[Statto]

Had one on my train once from Crewe to Hartford after connecting from a virgin service from London. Actually wanted Hertford North!
Would have thought a simple check when told would take 3 hours plus for a local journey but obviously not!
Also had a foreign couple travelling from Chester to Shenfield, they made it to London ok but were then sent to Liverpool rather than Liverpool Street at Euston, bit of a detour.

Lol, would have thought passenger's been caught out at Norwich over the years with trains to London Liverpool Street & Liverpool Lime Street wanting the other destination.

 

[sd0733]

Another one recently was a guy i had who got really confused that Chester Road is in fact nowhere near Chester, saw the advance was cheaper bought it and was going to walk into town!! Would think these people would check before they do these things

 

[oglord]

I wonder if any one has gone to the wrong Newport?

Newport (Gwent), Newport (Essex) & Newport (Isle of Wight).

Newport (Mon), surely? Or as the tickets state: "NEWPORT SOUTH WALES".

 

[bigfoote]

More than one occasion trying to buy walk-ups from Havant to Salfords (Surrey) and the ticket man issuing then hastily voiding open returns to Salford Central when my mother queried the price and spelled out where it actually was.

 

[dvboy]

Friend of mine from London in Manchester this week nearly ended up in Liverpool having misread "Liverpool L Street" for "Liverpool Street" at Piccadilly.

 

[DelayRepay]

Not quite the same but do you ever find yourself on autopilot when making a familiar journey?

A colleague of mine commutes on Thameslink between Luton and City Thameslink. Today he was using Thameslink to make the short journey between City Thameslink and St Pancras (we have another office near St Pancras). Unfortunately when he got on the train, he slipped into autopilot, started reading his paper and forgot to get off at St Pancras. When he realised, he was just passing Mill Hill Boradway.

I had to cover his work until he got back... maybe it was just an elaborate ploy to get out of a meeting....

 

[Esker-pades]

There are of course two Hayeses within Greater London, traditionally known as Hayes Kent and Hayes Middlesex : the latter is now officially known as Hayes and Harlington, but I bet it's still just Hayes to the locals. There are also two Bromleys in London but, as one has always been more significant than the other the other has always been Bromley-by-Bow in transport terms, which was just as well back in the day when you could board buses in Eltham High Street bound for either Bromley, from the same side of the street and even from the same stop!

Have got to say when I commuted from near Peckham (Hither Green) to near East Peckham (Maidstone West) I was never aware of any confusion. I had the 'luxury' of deciding whether to take a train via Dartford and Strood or Orpington and Paddock Wood twice a day, preferring the PW way but having to allow for it only being an hourly service on that leg, as opposed to half hourly to the delights of Strood, in case of missed connections. I'd sooner be in Stroud to Strood, but that's another matter!

My recent trips down that way (East Peckham) lead me to change at Strood. Got rather hairy on the return leg when the train was 20 minutes late because it hit a piece of tree (3753XX - 17/07) but made up time by not stopping anywhere between Maidstone West and Strood. Nice for me - I got my connection to Lewisham but not so great for those wishing to use Cuxton etc.
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It would be interesting at the Waterloo stations to see if people would get confused between the 2 Gillingham's. If people wanted the one in Hampshire, they could quite easily see a SE service to Gillingham, assume the obvious and get carted off to Kent.