NMBS knew who owners were but sent bag with lost jewelry to stuff help
© Marc Herremans – Mediahuis
Two travelers who lost a bag with travel passes, driving licenses and jewelry on the train did not get those jewels back. Railway company NMBS donated them to Spullenhulp, although she knew the identity of the travelers. It is one of the complaints that were treated last year by OmbudsRail, the Ombudsdienst for the train travelers.
Source: Belga
Today at 6:46 AM
Every year’s annual report there are numerous examples of complaints from travelers against the NMBS and other rail operators. In the case of the two Surinamese travelers who lost a bag with jewelry, it turned out that their declaration in the Brussels-Noord station could not be linked to the discovery in Brussels-Zuid, because the description did not match: one was a silver backpack, in the other of a gray one. When the NMBS closed the file after fifty days, the documents were sent to the embassy and the rest went to Spullenhulp.
« The owners were never contacted, even though their identity was known, » says the 2024 annual report of Ombudsrail. The Ombudsdienst believes that the NMBS should make « reasonable efforts » to reduce lost items. « That does not mean blindly following procedures, but actively detect owners. »
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Dubious situations
Ombudsrail was contacted 4,154 times last year, 7.6 percent more often than in 2023. Based on that, 1,089 files were opened, good for 2,334 complaints – one file can contain various complaints. Together with even older complaints, a total of just over 3,400 complaints were dealt with. Two in three went over national train traffic.
Ombudsrail continues to insist on the problem of administrative fines. « They are intended as a sanction for clear violations, such as not complying with safety regulations or travel without a valid ticket, » it is. « In practice, however, we see that fines are also imposed in questionable situations. »
