NMBS Deploys AI to Reunite Passengers with Lost Items Faster
Belgian national railway company NMBS/SNCB is launching a new AI-powered online application by the end of 2026 to streamline the process of returning lost items to their owners. The system, announced by Federal Minister of Mobility Jean-Luc Crucke (Les Engagés) in the Chamber Committee, will use artificial intelligence to automatically catalog, match, and facilitate the return of thousands of lost items left on trains and in stations each year.
The Scale of the Problem
According to NMBS figures, 40,500 lost items were found in trains and stations across Belgium in 2025. Of those, only 57 percent — approximately 23,085 items — were successfully returned to their owners. That leaves over 17,000 items annually that go unclaimed, ranging from keys and wallets to phones, laptops, and occasionally unusual items like sleep apnea machines and teddy bears.
As Het Laatste Nieuws reported, the new tool aims to dramatically improve these numbers through automation and artificial intelligence.
How the AI System Will Work
“The new tool will work fully automatically and will use artificial intelligence, among other things, so that a higher percentage of items can be returned to customers,” Minister Crucke explained during the parliamentary committee session. “This modernization will also lead to a reduction in workload for staff in stations and on trains.”
The AI system builds on an existing digital foundation. NMBS already operates a Lost & Found application built on SAP CRM with an SAP Fiori frontend, developed in partnership with Amista and Ypto. That system, as detailed in an Amista case study, uses a scoring technique to automatically propose matches between found objects and passenger declarations based on multiple characteristics including categorization, description, location, and time.
The new AI-powered upgrade promises to go significantly further, likely incorporating advanced machine learning models for image recognition and natural language processing to improve matching accuracy beyond the existing scoring system.
New Home Delivery Option
NMBS spokesperson Dimitri Temmerman confirmed that while passengers will still be able to pick up items at the station where they were found, a completely new option will also be available. “In addition, the new option will also be offered to have the item shipped home,” Temmerman said, as VRT NWS reported.
This home delivery service represents a significant convenience improvement for passengers who may have already left the area or find it difficult to return to the station where their belongings were recovered.
Political Reaction
The announcement was met with approval from opposition lawmakers. Staf Aerts, a Member of Parliament for the Green Party (Groen) who serves on the Chamber’s Mobility Committee, called the initiative “Hoog tijd” — “high time” — according to De Krantenkoppen, suggesting parliamentary pressure for improved lost-item services had been building.
Broader Digital Transformation
The AI-powered Lost & Found system is part of a wider digital transformation at NMBS. The railway operator has been investing in data analytics and artificial intelligence across multiple customer service domains. Its Innovation Lab previously partnered with Superlinear to develop a “frequentation barometer” — a data pipeline and dashboard using Microsoft Azure that predicts passenger flows up to 24 hours in advance based on website and app activity.
Tata Consultancy Services has also been involved in NMBS’s digital transformation efforts to accelerate railway innovation and improve customer experience.
What’s Next
The new AI application is expected to be operational by the end of 2026. While specific details about the technology stack and budget have not yet been disclosed, the initiative represents a practical, customer-service-focused application of artificial intelligence in public transportation. With over 40,000 items lost annually and only slightly more than half currently returned, even modest improvements could reunite thousands more passengers with their belongings each year.
The system will need to handle personal data carefully, but the broader trend at NMBS suggests a commitment to GDPR-compliant, privacy-conscious implementation. For the millions of Belgians who rely on rail travel daily, the new system promises to turn one of travel’s most frustrating experiences — losing a phone, wallet, or bag — into a problem with a much happier ending.