AN MD88 FLC GETS CONFUSED WHILE TAXIING ON THE RAMP IN A NIGHT OP. THEY START TO TURN ONTO ACTIVE OCCUPIED RWY 5-23 BELIEVING IT IS TXWY M AT CLT; NC.

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FLT PUSHED BACK FROM GATE. BOTH ENGS WERE STARTED IMMEDIATELY AND RAMP CTL CLRED US TO TAXI TO SPOT X. AS SOON AS WE CLRED THE CONCOURSE AREA; I CALLED FOR THE TAXI CHKLIST. ALL CHKLISTS WERE COMPLETED BY THE TIME WE PASSED TXWY E13 AND WE DEVOTED OUR COMPLETE ATTN TO TAXIING THE ACFT. THE ENVIRONMENT WAS VERY DARK AS WE TAXIED OUT. THE YELLOW TAXI LINES ON THE RAMP WERE DIFFICULT TO FIND AND FOLLOW. IN SOME AREAS; THE TAXI LINES WERE NOT VISIBLE; POSSIBLY DUE TO RECENT CONSTRUCTION; WHICH APPEARED TO HAVE OBSCURED THE YELLOW LINES. I HAD MY 10-9 ARPT DIAGRAM OUT AND REFERRED TO IT AS I TAXIED. DUE TO THE DARKNESS AND MY UNFAMILIARITY WITH THIS PART OF THE ARPT; I STILL HAD TROUBLE FIGURING OUT EXACTLY WHERE WE WERE ON THE RAMP. I REQUESTED FO ASSISTANCE ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. WE WERE PASSING ABEAM TXWY G WHEN FO CONTACTED CLT GND CTL THAT WE WERE APCHING SPOT X. GND CTL ERRONEOUSLY RESPONDED THAT WE WERE CLRED TO TAXI TO RWY 18R. THIS STARTLED US; SINCE WE THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO RWY 23. I AGAIN REFERRED TO THE ARPT DIAGRAM TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WAS GOING ON. THE CTLR QUICKLY CORRECTED HIMSELF AND CLRED FLT TO RWY 23 VIA TXWY M; WITH CLRNC TO CROSS RWY 18L AND CONTACT TWR. I HAD PICTURED IN MY MIND THAT I WOULD EXIT THE RAMP AT SPOT X SOUTHEASTERLY AND MAKE A 90 DEG L TURN ONTO TXWY M. I THOUGHT I DID EXACTLY THAT. AS I EXITED THE RAMP; I LOOKED TO THE R TO BE SURE THE TXWY WAS CLR; AND THEN LOOKED L TO COMPLETE THE TURN. AS I LOOKED L; I SAW AN ACFT WITH ALL ITS LIGHTS ON; AS IF IT WAS PREPARING TO TAKE OFF. I THEN REALIZED THAT THE ACFT WAS ON AN ACTIVE RWY. THE ACFT WAS TOO FAR INTO THE TURN TO STOP; SO I EXPEDITED ACROSS RWY 23 AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RWY; WE CONTACTED GND AND RECEIVED CLRNC TO TAXI TO RWY 23. WE DEPARTED RWY 23; AND FLT CONTINUED TO ATL WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. AFTER LNDG IN ATL; REVIEWED THE INCIDENT WITH FO. IT BECAME EVIDENT THE ACFT EXITED THE RAMP AT TXWY R; WHICH I BELIEVED WAS SPOT X. THE 90 DEG TURN ONTO WHAT WAS BELIEVED TO BE TXWY M WAS ACTUALLY A TURN ONTO RWY 23. I CONTACTED THE CLT ATC SUPVR ON THE PHONE AS SOON AS I GOT TO ATLANTA. HE COMMENTED THAT THIS WAS NOT THE FIRST PROB THAT HAD OCCURRED IN THAT AREA AND THAT THEY MIGHT NEED TO LOOK INTO IT. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 469530: THE GND CTLR THEN TOLD US TO SWITCH TO TWR AND GAVE THE FREQ. I RESPONDED TO THE INSTRUCTION TO SWITCH TO TWR. I THEN LOOKED DOWN AT MY 10-9 PAGE TO CONFIRM THE TWR FREQ AND LOOKED TO SWITCH COM #1 TO THAT FREQ. BEFORE I HAD THE FREQ DIALED IN; I FELT THE ACFT BEGIN TO MAKE A L TURN. AS I LOOKED UP; I SAW THE RWY EDGE LIGHTS BEHIND THE NOSE OF THE ACFT. REALIZING WE WERE ON RWY 23; I LOOKED TO THE R AND SAW TXWY R ON THE S SIDE OF THE RWY AND SAID WE NEEDED TO TURN BACK SLIGHTLY R TO EXIT THE RWY; WHICH WE DID.