I lost or forgot an object on my train

You had an amazing trip and your eyes are still sparkling with memories. In the excitement of returning home, you forgot your hat or even worse your camera on the TGV seat. All your memories seem to have disappeared and you wonder if you can recover your precious items forgotten on board your train.

We will show you how to have a chance of finding your belongings depending on the train company where you forgot your item.

In essence, all procedures for finding a lost item are more or less similar. You often have to go directly to the counter, or contact the lost and found service by phone or by email.

We will let you discover below, depending on the company concerned, the solutions available to you so you can recover your belongings in the best conditions.

You have two options if you have forgotten an object in a TGV, an Intercités, a TER or an OUIGO:

• Go to a lost and found office at the station

• Fill in this form online

Note that all objects that are not perishable are kept for a maximum of one month. So don't delay in filing a claim. Likewise, fill in the claim form carefully and provide accurate information so we can find you more easily.

If you forgot anything on board a Eurostar train, the procedure is quite simple.
For all items lost at French stations: Paris Gare du Nord, Marne-la-Vallée, Lille-Europe, Avignon, Calais-Fréthun, Moûtiers and Bourg-Saint-Maurice you can also fill out the same SNCF form mentioned above.

For items lost at London station: St Pancras, Ashford or Ebbsfleet, just send a claim email to the following address: lost.property@eurostar.com.

Head in the clouds on your train heading to Switzerland? Go to the counter at your arrival station. You can also fill out this form which lists all lost items by categories. Handy to make your investigations easier!

Since the merger of Thalys with Eurostar, the process is centralized. If you forgot an item on board, contact Eurostar's lost and found service by email at lost.property@eurostar.com, specifying the date of your trip, the train number (and if possible your car and seat), a description of the item as well as your contact details.

Items are generally kept for 28 days, most often at the arrival station. File or storage fees may apply. Don't delay in making your report!

Once you have started the reporting process for your item, all that's left to do is wait. Either by chance, a kind soul found it and deposited it with a counter or agent at the station. Unfortunately, it's possible that your item was not found...

First, an email will be sent to you if you made your request online, confirming that your request has been received and the process has begun to find your belongings. All lost items are registered in a database and according to the description of the item the data is cross-referenced so we can be sure to find your item precisely and not confuse it with an item whose description might be similar.
That's why the description must be as precise as possible.

When your item is found you will be contacted by phone or by email. You will have the possibility to go directly pick it up at the station or have it delivered to your home by paying shipping costs. You will then need to present an identity card to pick up the item. You must also pay a return fee of 5 or 10€ depending on the value of the found item.

Items are kept for one month in the offices if they have been found. If they are not claimed they will be given to the Department of State Lands or destroyed. It's also possible that your item was unfortunately stolen so no hope of finding it.

To avoid this type of inconvenience, don't hesitate to check your seat carefully when you arrive at the station to make sure you haven't forgotten anything. Also, only take out the bare essentials during the trip so your belongings are not scattered everywhere.

It is also important to behave responsibly if, on the other hand, we find an item. Indeed, you must put yourself in the shoes of this poor person who lost their item and would like to have a chance to recover it. It is therefore equally important to hand over or report any item found at a station or on board a train.

We hope that such a misadventure won't happen to you! Stay careful and attentive at the station and on board your train.