To coincide with the release of the iPhone 16, South Western Railway (SWR) estimates that since the iPhone 15 was released, the value of phones lost on its network could exceed £1 million.

At least five mobile phones were lost by South Western Railway’s network customers every day during the last year.

Although most of them have been successfully reunited with their owners, customers are reminded that if they lose anything on the railway, it is important to register it and collect it once it is found.

As well as phones going missing, over 600 earphones and AirPods have been lost since last year.

Along with clothing, bags, wallets and glasses, almost 22,000 different lost property items being recorded during the last year.

That is unlikely to reflect the true number of devices being lost, as not all lost property is handed in and not all customers report anything missing, so the true figure is likely to be significantly higher.

As well as being a source of anxiety, the loss of a mobile phone has coined the phrase ‘nomophobia’ (NO MObile PHone PhoBIA). Losses can also be expensive, as the cost of iPhone 16s which Apple has just released starts at £799.

Since the first iPhone launched in 2007, it is estimated that over 30,000 phones have been lost, which they would stretch over four kilometres if lined up end to end.

Many phones handed into lost property remain unclaimed, as out of the over 1,750 phones handed in since last year, just under 1,000 have been successfully returned to their owners.

Anyone who loses a phone or any other personal belongings during a journey should register the loss via the South Western Railway website, and if the item is handed in, customers can either collect it in person free of charge or pay to have it posted to them.

Lost items are retained at the lost property office in London Waterloo station for three months, after which they are either donated to charity, sold, recycled, or otherwise disposed of.

If a customer thinks they have lost something on a train, it will help the lost property team to locate their item if they note the time of the train and the carriage number. To help avoid losing something on a train, before they reach their destination passengers should ensure they have all their belongings, including checking all their pockets and under their seat.

It isn’t only phones that are lost on trains, as last year a toy monkey was reunited with its three-year-old owner after it travelled over six hundred miles by rail.

“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.

Jerome Pacatte, Head of Stations and Revenue Protection for South Western Railway