I wonder how can people really end up at places hundreds of km away from their intended destination even if they have no knowledge of how the railway system works.
Sure that if a train travels in a wrong direction, or unexpected stations are announced on the train, passengers will know they have travelled on the wrong train, especially in the era of GPS, right?
Given the minimal understanding of geography that many people have, the whole concept of 'wrong direction' doesn't exist for some.
Plenty of people will suddenly need to make an unfamiliar journey - to a funeral, conference, job interview, etc., often under stressful circumstances. I can accept that by car most folk these days would use a satnav with a postcode (although even there only one character out can give some 'interesting' results - HR for Hereford as against HS for Hebrides, for example). But if someone goes on the internet (or to a booking office) to book a train ticket to (say) "Swanwick" or "Castleton" they can instantly get sent to somewhere miles from where they want to go.
Why would many people want to take in any interest in places that they will be going 'through'?
I don't know anybody who routinely 'uses GPS' directly as a check on their position. In any event, if it shows that you are in Ullapool, happily en route to your Hebridean postcode, why would you be concerned (even if you were actually trying to get to an engagement party in Ledbury)?