Southeastern’s new system for handling lost property has more than doubled the number of items being returned to customers in three months.
A digital tagging system was introduced in April to help provide a better service for customers across Kent, East Sussex and London.
Since then, there has been a 78 percent increase in the number of items reunited with their owners.
With more than 1,700 train services every day, Southeastern receives around 20,000 items of lost property a year, from bags and coats to more unusual items, including a prosthetic leg and a guitar.
Items found on a train or at a station are now tagged with a unique QR code and logged on a database which staff use to try to match it with lost property reports from customers.
It replaces an outdated paper logging system and speeds up the time it takes for an item to be reunited with its owner.
Station Manager Aaron Cox, who is Southeastern’s lead for lost property, said:
“We all know how frustrating it can be when you lose something, and we want to make it as easy as possible to track down items left on trains or at stations.
“The new system was introduced following feedback from our customers, and I’m pleased we are already seeing more items being reunited with their owners. It also makes it easier for customers to report and track lost items.
"One of our main commitments is to provide a better service for the half a million customers who travel with Southeastern every year, and this is an example of how we’re doing that.”
Since the system launched in early April, 4,166 items have been logged on the database, including:
- 377 phones
- 729 coats and jackets
- 110 pairs of sunglasses
- 1,091 bags
There were also some more unusual items, including one trumpet, three tents, three skateboards, two hearing aids and two accordions.
The number of items reunited with their owners has increased from 12 percent before the system was introduced to 21 percent in less than three months and continues to grow.
Lost property is stored at a sorting centre at Cannon Street station and is kept for three months before being donated to charity or recycled.
