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

[PTR 444]

There are numerous examples of station pairs which share the same name, and it is not all uncommon for passengers to end up travelling to the wrong one. One of the most well-known examples is Stratford, where people who fancy a day out at Westfield or the Olympic Park end up in Shakespeare’s hometown instead (and vice versa). What would be interesting to find out is if there are many common offenders, as in stations which receive a high proportion of passengers who did not intend to travel there in the first place, by means of accidentally travelling to the wrong namesake station.

Even better would be to find stations which share their name with a namesake settlement that is better-known but does NOT have a station. An example of this is Stow, since far more people know of the settlement on-the-Wold in Gloucestershire than the one in the Scottish Borders, yet it is the latter which has the railway connection while the former does not. I am betting that at least two groups of tourists wishing to have a day out in the Cotswolds have been caught out by this!

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Must have been a few over the years that have boarded a train, at Norwich, for London Liverpool Street and ended up heading off towards Liverpool Lime Street.

 

[swt_passenger]

Must have been a few over the years that have boarded a train, at Norwich, for London Liverpool Street and ended up heading off towards Liverpool Lime Street.

If we assume, (given the many posts about it), that it does happen, how many would be dumb enough to stay on the train all the way until Liverpool, as the OP asks? We’d also have to assume there was no ticket check, no one wondered why they were in Cambridge, Peterborough, etc etc…

 

[Mcr Warrior]

If we assume, (given the many posts about it), that it does happen, how many would be dumb enough to stay on the train all the way until Liverpool, as the OP asks?

You'd like to think that they wouldn't get too far. Ely, maybe?

Does have all the hallmarks of possibly being a railway myth, to be fair.

 

[Kite159]

I wonder how many passengers board the wrong train for London Victoria at Ramsgate. I.e. wanting the train towards Faversham but board the train for Maidstone.
Or the wrong train for St Pancras at Margate/Broadstairs

 

[Basil Jet]

I know from personal experience that people wanting Edgware Road often end up in Edgware.

 

[swt_passenger]

I wonder how many passengers board the wrong train for London Victoria at Ramsgate. I.e. wanting the train towards Faversham but board the train for Maidstone.
Or the wrong train for St Pancras at Margate/Broadstairs

But they aren’t ending up at the wrong destination, are they?

 

[Kite159]

But they aren’t ending up at the wrong destination, are they?

Depends where they wanted to go, if they wanted Bromley or Victoria then no issue, but if they wanted Ashford and boarded the wrong Victoria train.

 

[swt_passenger]

Depends where they wanted to go, if they wanted Bromley or Victoria then no issue, but if they wanted Ashford and boarded the wrong Victoria train.

I still think you’re just not answering the question that was asked by the OP, which was about “paired names”…

 

[Flange Squeal]

I’ve known a few instances of people boarding trains at London Waterloo, wanting Fareham, ending up on a train towards Farnham (or vice versa). Both are generally intermediate stations on trains otherwise bound for Portsmouth or Alton respectively. It’s not so bad if they or the Guard notice before the train reaches Woking as they can change there, but ending up at or closer to Fareham creates a bit of a trek back to get to Farnham.

Another railway legend is passengers ending up at Alton, Hampshire, asking for directions to Alton Towers some 150+ miles away. Not experienced it myself though!

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Have seen someone board a TPE train at Huddersfield, next stop Manchester Victoria, but actually wanting the Manchester Piccadilly train following immediately behind.

Not sure if this is quite what the OP is looking for, though.

 

[Kingston Dan]

Before the closure of the Fife coast line you had Elie and Ely - both tickets available from Kings Cross.

 

[david1212]

Not quite the same name but Longfield instead of Lingfield for the racecourse ?

Any in Wales ? Towyn ( north coast ) does not have a station.

 

[PTR 444]

Depends where they wanted to go, if they wanted Bromley or Victoria then no issue, but if they wanted Ashford and boarded the wrong Victoria train.

I’m confused. Surely the only trains from Ramsgate to London Victoria are those which go via Faversham. Not aware of any Maidstone Line trains that extend to Ramsgate.

 

[Mikw]

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

 

[Paul Jones 88]

Ashford (Kent) or Ashford (Surrey)??

 

[507020]

I’ve known a few instances of people boarding trains at London Waterloo, wanting Fareham, ending up on a train towards Farnham (or vice versa). Both are generally intermediate stations on trains otherwise bound for Portsmouth or Alton respectively. It’s not so bad if they or the Guard notice before the train reaches Woking as they can change there, but ending up at or closer to Fareham creates a bit of a trek back to get to Farnham.

Another railway legend is passengers ending up at Alton, Hampshire, asking for directions to Alton Towers some 150+ miles away. Not experienced it myself though!

Alton Towers did of course originally have a station on the North Staffordshire Railway, to add to the confusion!

Have seen someone board a TPE train at Huddersfield, next stop Manchester Victoria, but actually wanting the Manchester Piccadilly train following immediately behind.

Not sure if this is quite what the OP is looking for, though.

It would be a problem if they had wanted an intermediate station served by a train terminating at Manchester Piccadilly and they ended up being overcarried to Victoria.

I’ve always wondered how many people end up at The Lakes (Warwickshire), on the line to Shakespeare’s birthplace, when they actually wanted Windermere, which is of course known informally as The Lakes. The station known as The Lakes was previously known as Earlswood Lakes, which given that it is what the lakes are called, would remove confusion with the Lake District, but introduce it with the Earlswood Lakes in Surrey and the following station from Redhill! Whoever thought to name multiple places the same thing in the first place?

 

[Bread & cheese]

Station staff tell me that Wokingham is regularly visited by people who either:
(a) wanted to go to Woking in Surrey, but ended up in Wokingham in Berkshire
(b) wanted to go to Wokingham, but were sold tickets to Woking

 

[Class800]

You'd like to think that they wouldn't get too far. Ely, maybe?

Does have all the hallmarks of possibly being a railway myth, to be fair.

It's not a myth to my recollection. I lived in Norwich for 3 years. It's why they display Lime Street Liverpool on the boards. I don't think anyone or many people actually ended up in Liverpool, but it was really common for people to end up in Ely and have to go to London that way, or even be returned to Norwich to try again depending on the routing of their ticket

 

[AM9]

How about Gillingham in Kent and in Dorset, both with Stations.

 

[Class800]

How about Gillingham in Kent and in Dorset, both with Stations.

More likely to be incorrect ticket than actually travelling to the wrong place, especially if the customer mispronounces the station at ticket office, Sudbury and Sunbury another awkward pair for tickets - I had to get a ticket withdrawn as the clerk had not listened carefully

 

[Jim Jehosofat]

Back in the 70s I sold someone a ticket to Stoneleigh, Surrey from Waterloo. They actually wanted to go to the Royal Showground in Warwickshire!

 

[norbitonflyer]

I knew someone trying to go to Cobham in Kent (nearest station Sole Street) ending up at Cobham & Stoke d'Abernon in Surrey.
Also in Surrey is Chobham, in the railway-less no-man's-land between Woking and Sunningdale

 

[Bletchleyite]

Leeds (W. Yorks) asking where the castle is is, I believe, quite common, often in an American accent.

I suppose there's also a chance of the two Hopes being mixed up (though assuming you weren't meeting someone both of them are good day-hike territory so that wouldn't necessarily be completely disastrous). And I did once get sold a ticket to East Didsbury when I asked for Disley but I doubt that's common. And there are two Gillinghams, no? And Preston<->Preston Park?

 

[Cherry_Picker]

DLR, but for some reason about ten years ago when they built the Stratford extension for the Olympics somebody thought it would be a good idea to give a station in West Ham the same name as a major landmark and tourist attraction in St John’s Wood.

Now because so may people get lost due to poor signposting there are posters up at Abbey Road saying something to the effect of “lol, you didn’t come to Abbey Road in the hope that it would be where the world famous Abbey Road studios and zebra crossing would be did you? Guess who just wasted an hour of their lives.”

 

[Flange Squeal]

I wonder if anyone at St Pancras has ever gotten confused between Loughborough from platforms 1-4 and Loughborough Junction from platform A? One being somewhat more out of the way if mixed up than the other...!

I knew someone trying to go to Cobham in Kent (nearest station Sole Street) ending up at Cobham & Stoke d'Abernon in Surrey.
Also in Surrey is Chobham, in the railway-less no-man's-land between Woking and Sunningdale

Something that's always intrigued me though is that it does have a Station Road! Presumably a historic naming as it heads out of town towards Woking.

 

[52290]

Leeds (W. Yorks) asking where the castle is is, I believe, quite common, often in an American accent.

I suppose there's also a chance of the two Hopes being mixed up (though assuming you weren't meeting someone both of them are good day-hike territory so that wouldn't necessarily be completely disastrous). And I did once get sold a ticket to East Didsbury when I asked for Disley but I doubt that's common. And there are two Gillinghams, no? And Preston<->Preston Park?

Preston Park to Prestonpans via Preston and Long Preston would be quite a journey.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Preston Park to Prestonpans via Preston and Long Preston would be quite a journey.

Though going from Hope to Hope wouldn't be as unpleasant as the other meaning of that, it'd be quite a scenic little trip. Change at Shotton and Manchester Piccadilly. Will have to do it one day.

Unfortunately you can't go for an international jaunt from Hope (Clwyd) to Hope (Derbys.) to Hope (Kreis Hannover), as the latter closed in the 1990s.

 

[D6975]

An American asked at Paddington for a ticket to Llandudno, Wales.
The conductor on the train to Swansea had to explain that as they were beyond Cardiff and he was en route to Llandrindod Wells (which is what it said on his ticket) and because it was getting late in the day there was no way he was going to get to Llandudno today.

​

 

[Mollman]

Also works the other way. I know of people being sold a ticket to Nottingham when they asked for Cottingham, and to Apperley Bridge when they asked for Appley Bridge.