Lost something on a train? The finder can reach you
A phone on the seat, a jacket on the hook, a bag on the rack. The train is gone, and with it the person who may have picked your item up. WaveSign is a free notice board for exactly this gap: place, time and a short description, and the two of you get in touch by e-mail. No account, no fee.
You lost something
- Check the map first: open the search, enter the time and the station or the stretch of line, and look for an entry about your item.
- Nothing there yet? Leave a WaveSign yourself: where and when you were on the train, what you lost and how it can be recognised. Keep one detail to yourself, so you can tell the right finder from the wrong one.
- Confirm your e-mail address with the link we send you. When a finder writes, the mail reaches you. Your address stays hidden until you reply.
You found something
- Hand the item in at the operator's lost and found if you can. That is still the surest way; the links are below.
- Leave a WaveSign anyway: the stretch of line, the time and a rough description. The owner is searching for this place and time right now. Do not describe the item in full, so that only the owner can prove it is theirs.
- Reply only to someone who names a detail you kept back. Nobody sees your address until you write back.
The official lost and found offices
Anything handed in on the train or at a station ends up with the operator. Ask there first and in parallel. WaveSign is not connected to any railway company; it covers the stretch in between: a finder who has not handed the item in yet, or who wants to reach you directly.
Questions about lost items
Do I need an account?
No. An entry needs a place, a time, two short descriptions and an e-mail address for the reply. You confirm the address once with a link.
How long is my entry visible?
30 days from the time you enter, not from the moment you save it. After that it leaves the map; after two years we delete it for good.
What do other people see?
The place, the time and the descriptions. Never your e-mail address. It only carries the reply to you.
Someone asks me for the serial number or the PIN. What now?
Do not answer. A real finder does not need such details, and a real owner can name a detail of the item without being asked. Use "Report" on the entry if someone is fishing for data.
Is this a replacement for the lost and found office?
No. It is a notice board for the time in between, when the item has not been handed in yet or the finder would rather return it directly. Report the loss to the operator as well.
And the wave?
WaveSign started with a gesture. You wave at someone you can no longer reach, say "wavesign.me", and you both know where to look. Someone waving through the closing door with your bag in their hand is exactly that gesture. Now that you have found your way here, you know it for the next time.