Have you accidentally left your backpack on the luggage rack? Has your mobile phone slipped out of your pocket unnoticed? Have you lost your daughter’s favourite teddy bear at the station? You’re in good company!
Every year, around 120,000 items are found on trains and at stations and handed in to the SBB Lost and Found Service. That’s more than 300 items per day that are looking for their owners. We have put together a few tips to help everything go smoothly.
How do I report a lost item?
You can submit a loss report online free of charge: Submitting a loss report - SBB.ch
The more precisely you describe the item you have lost, the greater the chance that it will be found.
The following information will help us to identify your item.
- Where (train number, route or station) and when did you lose the item?
- What have you lost? Helpful details include, for example:
- For mobile phones: IMEI number, plus details about the cover (colour, brand, etc.).
What is an IMEI number and where can you find it?
The IMEI is the serial number of the mobile phone. You can find it on the purchase contract or on the packaging of the mobile phone.
- For keys: key number (you can find this on a spare key), keyring, colour, brand and other details.
- For luggage items: colour, brand, distinctive features such as stickers, and the contents of the luggage
We will notify you as soon as your item has been found and is ready for collection. A return fee is charged upon collection. CHF 5 with a GA Travelcard, CHF 10 with a Half Fare Travelcard or annual travelcard, CHF 20 with no travelcard.
Express search request.
Is the lost item on an SBB train that is still has at least 30 minutes of travel time and also has passenger attendants on board? Or did you lose something at a staffed station? Then you have the option of submitting an express search request. For a fee of CHF 50 (excl. the return fee), someone will start looking for it immediately.
Submit an express search request - SBB.ch.
On SBB.ch you can find more answers to the most frequently asked questions about the SBB Lost and Found Service: Questions and answers about the SBB Lost and Found Service - SBB.ch
Locate objects.
If you lose your smartphone while travelling, you have the option of locating the device. This also applies to keys and items of luggage which have been fitted with an AirTag, for example. Unfortunately, you cannot collect the located item immediately yourself. We ask for your understanding on this matter. Register a loss report anyway and wait until you are notified about the collection. This can take several days.
We take feedback from the SBB Community seriously. The SBB Lost and Found Service has found a solution. Mobile phones, keys and wallets which have been found are now given priority.
Finally, a few fun facts.
- The variety of items found is huge. The collection ranges from luggage, mobile phones, bicycles and wallets to dirty, wet clothes and shoes. The latter are carefully dried before they make their way back to their owners.
- The most valuable object ever handed in to the Lost and Found Service was a famous Stradivarius violin worth several million CHF.
- 62% of the items found find their way back to their owners. Items which do not get collected remain in the warehouse for one to three months, depending on their value, before being resold.
- Sustainability is also an important issue for the SBB Lost and Found Service: the packaging material for sending the found items is reused several times. Of course, if possible, the lost property is transported to the station where it will be collected by train.
