After exiting runway 22 on taxiway H in elp; a B737-500 captain believed he had been cleared 'to the...

Narrative:

Clearing runway 22 after landing; I thought the controller stated; 'exit the runway at hotel. Remain this frequency and taxi to the gate.' I thought; 'cool;' and changed pages on the efb ipad to the airport page to reconfirm the location of our gate. Next thing I know the controller says; 'company flight number; stop!' I hit the brakes and saw that another aircraft was lifting off on runway 26. The controller intervention had prevented what would have been a runway incursion. I looked at the first officer and asked; 'I thought he said taxi to the gate?' the first officer replied; 'no; he said to hold short of the approach end of 8.' the tower controller then cleared us to the gate.beyond the obvious failure to communicate intentions and verify; the lack of signage and standard hold short runway markings at that end of the airport has always been a problem.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: After exiting Runway 22 on Taxiway H in ELP; a B737-500 Captain believed he had been cleared 'to the gate.' Instead; as they approached the lengthy overrun of Runway 8/26; Ground Control alerted they had been cleared to '...hold short of [the approach end] of runway eight.

Narrative: Clearing Runway 22 after landing; I thought the Controller stated; 'Exit the runway at Hotel. Remain this frequency and taxi to the gate.' I thought; 'Cool;' and changed pages on the EFB IPad to the airport page to reconfirm the location of our gate. Next thing I know the Controller says; 'Company Flight Number; STOP!' I hit the brakes and saw that another aircraft was lifting off on Runway 26. The Controller intervention had prevented what would have been a runway incursion. I looked at the First Officer and asked; 'I thought he said taxi to the gate?' The First Officer replied; 'No; he said to hold short of the approach end of 8.' The Tower Controller then cleared us to the gate.Beyond the obvious failure to communicate intentions and verify; the lack of signage and standard hold short runway markings at that end of the airport has always been a problem.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	1103472
Time
Date	201307
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ELP.Airport
State Reference	TX
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B737-500
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Taxi
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 198
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Conflict Ground Conflict Less Severe Deviation - Procedural Clearance

After exiting runway 22 on taxiway H in elp; a B737-500 captain believed he had been cleared 'to the gate.' instead; as they approached the lengthy overrun of runway 8/26; ground control alerted they had been cleared to '...hold short of [the approach end] of runway eight.