Yes. One time a made a horrible mistake taking a train to Bern instead of Basel. I missed my nonrefundable flight CHF150, just because I boarded the wrong train and was listening to music so loud that I couldn't hear any announcements. Realized only on arrival to Bern when I saw the bridge. Never made another stupid mistake like this ever again
Yes... In France... the day I was actually proud to finally understand how French system works and "wow will be in Switzerland in incredible 2.5 hours!!" What I didn't know is that in France two trains can depart at relatively close time the same track in both directions, I got the wrong one. So I was in the wrong train and the only thing I could repeat in French was "Je suis perdu" even after I got on track again I could only say "Je suis perdu" as I had no clue how to conjugate "perdu" hahaha. Took me 6h and the French people were so nice and helpful they even allowed me to call my boyfriend in Switzerland from the trainstation helpdesk, they arranged everything put me in the right voie und off I went! Fantastic!
Here in Switzerland I doubt they would have the same sympathy for a foreigner that could barely say I am lost in their language
I was working in Zug in 2013. One morning I fell asleep and had to get out in Luzern. Thank goodness the chap who woke me had understanding and I only had to pay for the round trip Zug-Luzern. My boss was confused, I guess he thought I could come up with something better.
OMG. So whilst I haven't gotten on the wrong train, I have made that driving mistake. So many towns in this country with the same names but in different Kantons! It's been good I suppose for accelerating my geography knowledge.
Now I am much more diligent with my google maps check rather than just punching a town name into the sat nav!
In the UK I got on a train that didn't stop at my home station, but the next one along. I had to go through the barriers to get on the right train to get me home - the ticket inspectors were quite relaxed about it. "Happens all the time".
I cannot remember ever getting on the wrong train, though I might well have done at some point or other, but I have more than once got onto the right bus and it has gone the wrong way. Bus driver forgot which route he was on. The really funny thing about one occasion, is that no-one except me turned a hair. They just all sat there and were taken in the wrong direction while I rushed up to the driver from the back of the bus. I asked, gently, if this were perhaps a change in the timetable? Weird.
Added later for clarity: These events took place in Swatch Switzerland not Bungling Britain!
I was in Jackson Mississippi last year on a work-related trip. I read on the Internets there was a museum in Jackson that I quite fancied visiting. So I tacked an extra day onto my trip. When I asked for directions it turned out that museum was in Jacskson, Tennessee.
was coming back from Frankfurt to Zurich with my sister who lived in switzerland for a year...i assumed she was an expert in all things swiss (as her german was on point)...we ended up missing a train or two, and arriving in austria at 1am...at that point i gave up and got an uber ride back to zurich...
oddly enough that was about the same time i took the time to learn the SBB app in great depth as well as how to read the timetables...
My sister's family thought they had boarded the train here in Neuchatel to go to the Geneva airport. Not understanding Swiss efficiencies, they boarded the train 5 minutes early (although I suspect it was more like 10 minutes). She phoned me as they were entering Biel/Bienne on a train bound for Basel asking if they were going in the right direction. They were not. Surprisingly, they still made the flight.
My wife was on the last train from Bern to Neuchatel, sitting comfortably in the back of the train when the train approached a very small outpost train station and the intercom said some words in French she didn't understand. Much to her surprise, the front half of the train left the station but the back half stayed behind. I had to take a 1:00 am car trip into the country side to find her.
My friend back in the States, some years back when flights were not so closely scrutinized, was flying from Denver to NYC with a connection in Chicago. On his way from Chicago to NYC, the pilot came on and said it was perfect weather in their flight to Atlanta. He didn't realize he was supposed to change planes in Chicago. The flight attendants teased him mercilessly (as they should have).
As for myself, I was returning from my 5 day trip to a university friend's wedding in Minneapolis when I presented my ticket to the lady at the check-in counter at the airport. She kindly let me know that I was exactly 24 hours late for my flight. Doh! She charged me a $100 idiot fee and changed the ticket for me.
I got on the wrong train from York to Hull once. I was with one of my best friends and we were talking and not at all paying attention. It wasn't our finest moment as we were actually on the way to another friend's wedding .
We managed to right ourselves just before the "I DO" bit. Said friend still doesn't know because we're on the official photos... It was about 16 years ago...
I frequently stand on the wrong side of the tram tracks here, but that's because I'm geographically confused.
I had an A-Level teacher once (phenomenally bright in his field - Oxbridge, Durham Uni etc) who habitually got lost whilst driving because he couldn't ever remember where he was going. He also thought the M1 only went North. We - at 17/18 - had to point out that it went South too... The sight of him circling a pub (surrounded by a ring road) in my home town whilst trying to find his way into the car park went down in school legend.
Did I ever get on the wrong train? I don’t remember, but it would not surprise me if I did.
However, I once almost got on the wrong plane. As an airline employee, I get to travel at greatly reduced fare, but only if a seat is available. Many is the time where I got stranded somewhere for more than a day.
I was trying to get back to San Francisco from Denver, but the plane was full. Looking at the departure board, I saw a flight to San Jose. I knew that I could get from there back to SFO using ground transportation (it’s only about 45 miles). So I walked over to the gate indicated and got in line.
This was way before 9/11, so security was non-existent. But something was nagging at me. When I looked more closely at the sign, I realized I was trying to board a flight to San José, the capital of Costa Rica!
Not only would I have been in the wrong town, I would have been in the wrong country. I could have been a nice adventure!
I once took a local train from London to visit my aunt. A few stops before my destination an employee cycled along the platform shouting something obscene, so I ignored him. Then the train started off and we went slowly into a marshalling yard and stopped. I realised I had made a grave error as there were no platforms... the driver saw me and escorted me around the 600 volt live electric third rails and back to the station.
A long time ago I used to work in Bruettisellen in a rather international company. Nearest station was Dietlikon. When I got a visitor from our Dutch office did I tell him to take the train from the airport but make sure it says Diet l ikon, not Dietikon. He went on the wrong one. Half a year later he visited again. I jokingly reminded him of his 2 hour round trip and told him not to do it again... which he did! From then on did I pick him up at Kloten...
2 trains departing at the same time from the station, but from the wrong platforms. I could not understand all the Italian being spoken, in typical Italian fashion, lots of arm waving and loud voices. But the ticket collector, just shrugged his shoulders and said something about the next station. Where half the train seemed to get off and head for the cafe / bar, which did a very good trade for an hour or so before all getting back onto the next train going back the other way.