Trivia: Stations where passengers headed for a completely different destination end up on a regular basis

[61653 HTAFC]

Germany has two cities called “Frankfurt”, at complete opposite ends of the country. Both have railway stations.

I wonder how many international business people in suits have ended up in Frankfurt (Oder) instead of Frankfurt (am Main).

Don't know about businesspeople, but it has happened to football supporters...

 

[TFN]

I bet some muppets have gone to Leicester Square instead of Leicester over the years.

Likewise at Paddington when a passenger says they're going to Oxford but really wanted Oxford Circus.

 

[AM9]

Liverpool Street is indeed an atrocious name for the station in question, but Bishopsgate is too similar to Bishops Stortford, which is of course a major terminus for trains from it. I would go for Broadgate (for the Liz station), Broadgate Eastern (for the Anglia station) and Broadgate Northern (for Moorgate).

Liverpool Street is the name of the road across the ends of the platform and in no way could it be "atrocious". There will always be those who pay insufficient attention to their actions when travelling but of the few who do make the mistake of choosing the wrong Liverpool probably only do it once, and see that as a life's lesson, taking more care ever after.

 

[Springs Branch]

Almost ancient history, but until the early 1960s, when Liverpool Exchange still had some longer-distance services, there was a departure from Exchange on Saturdays afternoons with final destination Bootle - the one in Cumberland, not 3 stops away on the Southport electric line.

This train's first stop was Ormskirk, so presumably any passengers for Bootle Oriel Road would realise their mistake well before arriving at the other Bootle 4½ hours later (maybe the fact you were sitting in a compartment on a steam train rather than a Class 502 EMU would be another clue)

On the other hand, if you really were travelling to the faraway Bootle, you'd need to be quite specific at the booking office window, as the clerks at Exchange probably sold many tickets an hour to Bootle Oriel Road and might be on autopilot.

 

[Taunton]

Reports in the early internet booking era of one or two who wanted to go by plane from London to Sydney, Australia, and ended up going to Sydney, Nova Scotia, in Canada. Newspaper accounts under a "how can you be so silly" headline.

However, it's an example of how transport companies could think a bit more. The travel website they used had just taken for destination selection an alphabetical city list from a USA website, and there were, blandly right next to each other in the list, Sydney NS and then Sydney NSW, for Nova Scotia and New South Wales respectively. No other qualification. It's no wonder more mistakes weren't made there. Travel on a Canadian airline a pointer? They were actively promoting their flight connections from London to Australia at the time, through Vancouver and Hawaii.

 

[mike57]

Liverpool Street is the name of the road across the ends of the platform and in no way could it be "atrocious". There will always be those who pay insufficient attention to their actions when travelling but of the few who do make the mistake of choosing the wrong Liverpool probably only do it once, and see that as a life's lesson, taking more care ever after.

In terms of boarding trains, there was major confusion at Peterborough one day some years ago, there was disruption, with trains in wrong platforms and at that time there was a service from Peterborough to Ipswich and the down the GE main line to Liverpool Street. This was in platform at the same time as EMR the service to Liverpool Lime Street from Norwich. Neither trains were in their normal platforms, both were well delayed, and the PISs kept changing as someone tried to sort the mess. Staff were hurrying around trying to make sure everyone got on the right train, and announcements were just adding to the confusion. I dont know if everyone got on the right train, but there were certainly some confused looking passengers.

 

[Mogz]

Liverpool also has a Waterloo station on Merseyrail’s Northern Line.

There’s also Moreton (Wirral) not to be confused with Moreton-in-Marsh on the Cotswold line.

 

[PTR 444]

There’s also Moreton (Wirral) not to be confused with Moreton-in-Marsh on the Cotswold line.

Or Moreton in Dorset

 

[stuu]

Re the Stansted example, what is the benefit of announcing the station name at all? Trains only go to one terminus in London, so putting London and Liverpool as the destinations gets rid of the problem. Liverpool only has one station for long distance trains anyway, so does the suffix serve any purpose outside the city? The same applies to anywhere with services to only one London station. At my local station, trains to Scotland are announced as stopping at Edinburgh and Haymarket, without the Waverley name, so its not without precedent.

The station name could be shown in brackets or something to assist onward travel

 

[Spartacus]

Re the Stansted example, what is the benefit of announcing the station name at all? Trains only go to one terminus in London, so putting London and Liverpool as the destinations gets rid of the problem. Liverpool only has one station for long distance trains anyway, so does the suffix serve any purpose outside the city? The same applies to anywhere with services to only one London station. At my local station, trains to Scotland are announced as stopping at Edinburgh and Haymarket, without the Waverley name, so its not without precedent.

The station name could be shown in brackets or something to assist onward travel

As they call at Liverpool South Parkway and Liverpool Lime Street it could be very confusing if one was just 'Liverpool', while many might regard Stratford as being London, and I'm sure there'd be those who might not know the train was going through to Liverpool Street and guess maybe Kings Cross via Cambridge, and be mighty annoyed when it was the wrong one, or waste time checking it was a Liverpool Street train.

 

[Gloster]

Reports in the early internet booking era of one or two who wanted to go by plane from London to Sydney, Australia, and ended up going to Sydney, Nova Scotia, in Canada. Newspaper accounts under a "how can you be so silly" headline.

I remember that case. They had always wanted to visit Sydney (Australia) and when they saw a cheap flight to Sydney they booked it: they were quite prepared to put up with changing planes as was indicated. It was only once they had crossed the Atlantic and saw that the connecting plane from Halifax (I think) was a small twin-prop that they got their first inkling that all might not be what they expected. To be fair to them, they didn’t sit there moaning and looking for someone to sue, but made the best of it. The story got around and they briefly became minor local celebrities, even going on the local radio station.

 

[stuu]

As they call at Liverpool South Parkway and Liverpool Lime Street it could be very confusing if one was just 'Liverpool', while many might regard Stratford as being London, and I'm sure there'd be those who might not know the train was going through to Liverpool Street and guess maybe Kings Cross via Cambridge, and be mighty annoyed when it was the wrong one, or waste time checking it was a Liverpool Street train.

Nothing terminates at Liverpool South so why would having a destination of Liverpool be an issue? I'm not suggesting changing the name of the station, so all the stops would still be listed, just the final destination should be given as Liverpool from anywhere further away than say Crewe.

Also for a London train, of course you would need to give the station name if there is a choice, but where the isn't, what is the benefit?

 

[Old Yard Dog]

Have any visiting football fans ever headed for Tottenham Court Road?

 

[Basil Jet]

Changing the subject slightly, I once found a street atlas of London in a London shop. As a map collector, I instantly recognised the brand as a Canadian company called MapArt, and sure enough, it was an atlas of London Ontario, although nothing on the cover warned of that. I wonder how many confused tourists bought one. I bought one!

Have any visiting football fans ever headed for Tottenham Court Road?

Probably, I've personally met people who thought Tottenham was the area around TCR, and that Finchley was the area around Finchley Road station, and Hornsey was the area around Hornsey Road, and that "Seven Sisters" means the entirety of Seven Sisters Road. Allegedly QPR fans show up at Queens Park station.

 

[Llandudno]

And the solution the railway came up with to prevent this was, in typical industry fashion, way more long-winded than it needed to be...
Liverpool Lime Street became "Lime Street (Liverpool)" so that London Liverpool Street could still be displayed as "Liverpool Street" on the screens. The more sensible solution would be to display as "LONDON Liverpool Street", and "LIVERPOOL Lime Street".

The place name should always take precedence over the station name.

Perhaps at Norwich the PIS displays should just show Liverpool and London!

 

[BeijingDave]

Germany has two cities called “Frankfurt”, at complete opposite ends of the country. Both have railway stations.

I wonder how many international business people in suits have ended up in Frankfurt (Oder) instead of Frankfurt (am Main).

Actually, I have a number of times, absent-mindedly selected flights from Beijing to Manchester (MHT) rather than Manchester (MAN) using the autofill.

Of course realising my error immediately when I saw the total flight times and carriers.

 

[AM9]

Perhaps at Norwich the PIS displays should just show Liverpool and London!

Agreed, far cheaper than the millions involved in changing the name of Liverpool St to some irrelevant name. Some poeople need to get a sense of proportion here.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Agreed, far cheaper than the millions involved in changing the name of Liverpool St to some irrelevant name. Some poeople need to get a sense of proportion here.

I believe it was corrected to say "Lime St Lvrpl" to avoid the confusion (makes sense to change the one that's of lower demand), though I don't know if it still does.

 

[geoffk]

Agreed, far cheaper than the millions involved in changing the name of Liverpool St to some irrelevant name. Some poeople need to get a sense of proportion here.

I was told by a colleague that CIS displays at Harwich International once showed trains to "Liverpool Street" and "Liverpool L. Street". Especially misleading at a port station where there might be first-time visitors to Britain.

A different ex-colleague was once invited to a wedding at Harvington, Worcestershire. He caught a train there (this must have been in the 1960s) only to find that none of the local directions made sense and the church was the "wrong saint". Only then did he discover there were two Harvingtons in Worcestershire - the one near Evesham where he was and another between Bromsgrove and Kidderminster.

There are two Bickleighs in Devon and both once had stations. To avoid confusion the Bickleigh near Exeter was served by a station called Cadeleigh.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Perhaps at Norwich the PIS displays should just show Liverpool and London!

That would work too. But that's far too sensible...

I believe it was corrected to say "Lime St Lvrpl" to avoid the confusion (makes sense to change the one that's of lower demand), though I don't know if it still does.

That doesn't "make sense" at all- it needlessly complicates the obvious solution listed above.

 

[RH Liner]

Mansfield Woodhouse is generally known locally just as Woodhouse (or even Wood’us). Passengers travelling to there from Worksop need the Nottingham train. But if they get on a Sheffield train by mistake instead they can still get off at Woodhouse, just not the same one. And vice-versa of course.

 

[py_megapixel]

What about making them say "LONDON Liverpool Street" and "LIVERPOOL Lime Street" (capitalised like that)?

 

[greyman42]

Anyone headed for Canary Wharf will now, with the advent of Crossrail, end up in potentially one of three, completely unconnected and far apart stations, with a considerable dogleg to get between any of them.

Or you could just take the short walk between them.

 

[Typhoon]

Not exactly the same but I went to the ticket office at Victoria and asked for a ticket to Chestfield, I was asked whether I meant Chesterfield. I could understand it if he'd asked about Chelsfield.

 

[Class800]

Not exactly the same but I went to the ticket office at Victoria and asked for a ticket to Chestfield, I was asked whether I meant Chesterfield. I could understand it if he'd asked about Chelsfield.

The station is Chestfield and Swalecliffe though

 

[Bill57p9]

Once when my mum asked in Nottingham for a ticket to Newark Castle the clerk tried to sell her one to Newcastle.
The price was the giveaway.

 

[Class800]

Once when my mum asked in Nottingham for a ticket to Newark Castle the clerk tried to sell her one to Newcastle.
The price was the giveaway.

Well there's profiteering and there's....

 

[greyman42]

Once when my mum asked in Nottingham for a ticket to Newark Castle the clerk tried to sell her one to Newcastle.

A good one for the specsavers hearing aid adverts!

 

[Class800]

A good one for the specsavers hearing aid adverts!

If it was accidental - of course we can't be sure and don't want to speculate

 

[Typhoon]

The station is Chestfield and Swalecliffe though

True - but it is usually referred to as 'Chestfield' (actually silent 't') locally. (Although at one time the pre-recorded on-board station announcements gave it as 'Chesterfield and Swalecliffe' which sometimes resulted in a groan from passengers).