Lost Something on the Saint Petersburg Metro: Whom to Call and Where Items Go After 10 Days

Left a bag on a metro bench or a backpack in a carriage in Saint Petersburg? It is almost certainly safe — the question is where it will be ten days from now. The metro has its own procedure, and it differs from Moscow's. Here is whom to call in the first minutes, where the item goes afterwards, and why documents are a separate story.

First minutes: the metro helpline

The one correct first call is the information line of the Saint Petersburg Metro: 8-800-350-11-55 (free within Russia). The operator will ask for the station, the time, the direction and, if possible, the carriage number, and will contact the station duty officers. Everything found on trains and stations is handed to the station duty officer against an inventory, so the more precisely you describe the item and its contents, the faster it is matched. If you notice the loss immediately, tell the duty officer at the nearest station in person.

First ten days: at the station

Found items are kept within the metro system for ten days and can be collected at the station where they were found. You will need your passport and will fill in a short form; items are released to the owner in person only. If you are leaving tomorrow and the item turned up today, it can be collected the same day.

After ten days: the city lost-and-found

Unclaimed items are transferred to the lost-property desk of the city Centre for Lost Documents and Communication Devices. According to the metro helpline it is at 16 Bolshaya Monetnaya Street, near Gorkovskaya metro station; call the helpline first to confirm the item has been transferred and to check opening hours.

Documents and phones

Passports and phones end up at the same centre, but with a passport it is safer not to wait: if it has not turned up within hours, treat it as lost — see our guide on what to do if you lose your passport in Saint Petersburg. A bank card is quicker to block and reissue than to retrieve.

Lost outside the metro

• Bus, tram, trolleybus — each operator has its own hotline, printed on the route sign inside the vehicle; note the route number and time.
• Taxi — through the app, in the trip card; the driver is called back, usually for a fee.
• Train — contact the arrival station's help desk or use the Russian Railways form with train, carriage and seat numbers.
• Pulkovo airport — the airport has its own lost-property office; delayed luggage is a different procedure, covered in our article on luggage that did not arrive at Pulkovo.

Frequently asked questions