SOUTH Western Railway (SWR) is reminding customers to keep track of their mobile phones, as new data reveals that at least five phones have been lost on its network every day since the iPhone 15 launched last year.
In total, over 1,750 phones have been logged by SWR’s lost property team since 22 September 2023. In the same period, over 600 earphones have also been logged.
However, the true number of lost devices is likely to be significantly higher, as not all lost property is handed in and not all customers report their devices as missing.
Losing a mobile phone, a source of anxiety known as ‘nomophobia’ (NO MObile PHone PhoBIA), can also be expensive.
- The news comes as Apple releases the iPhone 16 tomorrow (Friday 20 September), priced from £799. SWR estimates that the value of phones lost on its network in the past year may well exceed £1 million*.
It is estimated that more than 30,000 phones will have been lost since the first iPhone launched in 2007. Lined up end to end, they would stretch over four kilometres – more than the distance between Vauxhall and Clapham Junction stations in London**.
Phones are one of the most frequently lost items on the SWR network, along with clothing, bags, wallets and glasses. Overall, in the period since the release of iPhone 15 on 22 September 2023, SWR has logged almost 22,000 different lost property items.
Jerome Pacatte, Head of Stations and Revenue Protection for South Western Railway, commented:
“Losing a phone or any other personal belonging during a journey can cause stress and anxiety, but our lost property team works incredibly hard to reunite customers with the hundreds of items lost on our network every week.
“While it might feel impossible to get your lost property back, we successfully return many items to their owners, so we strongly encourage customers who have lost something to get in touch with us.
“To end every journey on a positive note, we advise customers to take some time before reaching their destination to double-check they have everything.”
SWR advises customers to take some time before they reach their destination to ensure they have all their belongings, including checking all their pockets as well as on and under their seat.
Out of the over 1,750 phones handed into lost property since last year, just fewer than 1,000 have been successfully returned to their owners, leaving a sizeable minority unclaimed.
Customers who lose their phones or any other personal belongings during their journeys should register them via the SWR website. If the item is handed in, customers will be able to collect it in person for free or pay to have it posted to them.
If customers think they have lost something, noting the time of the train and the carriage number will help the lost property team locate their item.
Lost property from across the network is retained at the SWR lost property office in London Waterloo station for three months, after which it can be donated to charity, sold, recycled or otherwise disposed of.
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