Parliament Question: Lost luggage of Railways passengers

O.I.H GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3317 ANSWERED ON 20.03.2026 LOST LUGGAGE OF RAILWAYS PASSENGERS 3317# DR. BHIM SINGH: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether the passenger belongings lost in Indian Railways are recovered by the Railway Protection Force/GRP, if so, the number of cases in which lost belongings were recovered during the last three years, zone-wise along with the number of cases in which the belongings were returned to their rightful claimants; and (b) the number of unclaimed belongings during the same period, zone-wise and the procedure adopted by the Railways for disposal/auction of such unclaimed belongings? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) ***** (a) and (b) : RPF has launched a focused initiative “Operation Amanat” where RPF personnel helps in securing of passengers’ belongings, which are left behind by passengers in hurry to board the train or forgotten by them in train or at station. Following steps are also being taken by the Railways in coordination with GRP for safety and security of passengers and their belongings in trains and at stations:- i. On vulnerable and identified routes/sections, trains are escorted by Railway Protection Force in addition to trains escorted by Government Railway Police of different States daily. ii. Surveillance is kept through CCTV cameras provided in number of coaches and railway stations for enhanced security of passengers & their belongings. iii. For immediate assistance passengers can also make complaint on Rail Madad Portal directly or through Helpline Number 139 (integrated with Emergency Response Support System(ERSS) No.112) about their left behind belongings. iv. Railways are in regular touch with passengers through various social media platforms viz. twitter, facebook etc. to enhance security of passengers, their belongings and to address their security concern. §v. Frequent announcements are made through Public Address System to educate passengers to take precautions against theft, snatching, drugging etc. and taking care of their belongings while on railways. vi. All Onboard staff and personnel deployed at stations and maintenance depot are sensitized to report about any unattended/unclaimed luggage to nearest RPF Post/ Station Master/Train Ticket Examiner etc. through whom those unclaimed/unattended, left behind luggage are secured. vii. All efforts are taken to secure the left behind luggage and return to its rightful owner after due verification. During the last three years 2023, 2024 and 2025, a total of 1,18,677 luggage left behind by the passengers were recovered, out of which 1,16,901 were handed over to the rightful claimants that is 98.5% of the total recovered belongings. As per the extant provisions of the Indian Railway Commercial Manual, lost and unclaimed passenger belongings found in trains or railway premises are taken into custody by the Station Master, properly inventoried, and entered in the lost property register. Unclaimed articles are transferred to the Lost Property Office within 7 days in case of terminal stations and within 48 hours in case of other stations. At the Lost Property Office, all efforts are made to return the items to the rightful owners. The articles unclaimed for three months are disposed of through public auction after due notice of at least 7 days through advertisement or public notice. ***** §