A microwave in the underground?

Incredible, but true. A user entered Metro with a microwave and forgot it on one of its platforms. Among the more than 60,000 lost objects found every year in the Metro network, there are some very interesting ones. Do you want to know what they are and where these objects found in the underground go?

August 28 2023

Every day, some 160 lost objects are located on the Metro de Madrid network. It isn't that our users are very forgetful, but with more than two million passengers a day, it's normal that the number of misplacements multiplies.

There are about 60,000 a year and they include practically everything. Some are even hard to believe that they can be forgotten by their owners: hoovers, microwaves, a high chair, wheelchairs, walking sticks, crutches and even dentures.

Not all objects are so eye-catching. The most commonly found items are public transport cards, documents and everyday objects such as keys, earphones, glasses and mobile phones.

Lost keys at a Metro station

If you'd like to know what's going on in Madrid, all you have to do is go down to the Metro and snoop through the objects that get lost in stations and trains. And there is an interesting relationship between what happens in the city and forgetfulness in the Metro. Exam time? Notes and books appear everywhere. A match? Team scarves proliferate. Bad weather? It rains umbrellas, hats and gloves. Even during the Filomena storm, there were those who forgot the skis they used to move around the snow-covered streets.

Whatever the type of object, when it's lost, it embarks on a journey through the Metro facilities in search of being recovered by its owner. The first step is the computer registration of the object by station staff, including the most relevant data and photographs. To facilitate collection, the object remains in the station where it was found for the first two days. If it isn't claimed, it's transferred by the daily logistics routes to the Customer Service Centre in Plaza de Castilla, where it is stored for another four weeks.

Plaza de Castilla Station

And if it remains unclaimed after that time, then the object is sent to a destination outside Metro. This destination depends on the nature of the object: TTPs go to the Consortium, identity documents to the Police... and the rest of the objects, which are more or less interesting, go to the Madrid City Council's Lost Property Warehouse.

But let's get down to business: Have you left an item at Metro and don't know how to retrieve it? Well, you have several avenues. You can call the free telephone number +34 900 444 404 or fill in this form on our website. You can also ask in person at the Plaza de Castilla office, from 7 am to 10 pm from Monday to Friday, and from 10 am to 10 pm on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.

User at the lost property office