Curious finds

Gold medal and sun lounger forgotten on the train

Last year, too, a lot of things fell by the wayside.

(Bild: P. Huber)

Eight times a day last year, passengers in Upper Austria forgot personal belongings on the train. These included unusual finds such as a sun lounger, two wheelchairs and a gold medal.

Train departs! And often with abandoned items: On average, passengers in Upper Austria left personal belongings on the train eight times a day in 2024. These included some curious items: for example, two wheelchairs, an angle grinder, a child seat and a sun lounger were left on trains in the previous year. Equally unusual: a passenger unintentionally left a gold medal won at a sports competition in a carriage.

Luggage such as suitcases, rucksacks and bags were the most frequently forgotten items (889 times). Electrical appliances (549) were also frequently left behind, followed by purses (429). And musicians are not always on track either: Ten instruments were left behind on the trains, including a saxophone.

4 out of 10 found items find their owners again
A total of 2977 items were handed in to the ÖBB lost property office at Linz Central Station, roughly the same number as in the previous year (2023: 2946). "Of these, around 38 percent can be returned to their owners," says Bundesbahnen spokesperson Klaus Baumgartner. The other unclaimed items are sent to the City of Linz's public lost and found office as required by law.

Folders or pencil boxes are often forgotten at the start of school, umbrellas more often in the fall and sports equipment in the summer.

Klaus Baumgartner, Sprecher der ÖBB in Oberösterreich

Losses are seasonal
"What we find depends on the season. At the start of school, folders or pencil boxes are more often forgotten, in the fall it's more often umbrellas and in the summer it's more often sports equipment," says Baumgartner.

Anyone missing something after a train journey can report it to ÖBB online, by telephone [phone]) or in person at the lost and found office at Linz station.