Unclaimed bag unloaded, person arrives too late

[Jamiescott1]

Yesterday on a cross country service whilst sat in the platform at Reading the train manager did 3 announcements saying we have an unattended bag in coach F with a luggage tag on it, if your name is (what was on the tag) or if you have a bag in coach f please come down to the coach.
Exiting at Oxford, the person whose bag it was, was trying to locate their bag only to be told it was offloaded at Reading.
Should always listen to announcements.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Should always listen to announcements.

And preferably be sat somewhere where you have view of your luggage, if it's not right next to you / above you.

Wonder whether the individual in question was even travelling in Coach 'F'?

 

[renegademaster]

Since when do bags get chucked off if you are not standing next to them? Most intercity trains are stacked with bags by the vesitubles unattended and its not usually an issue

 

[signed]

Since when do bags get chucked off if you are not standing next to them?

At least they're not destroyed (and causing a bomb squad intervention) like they are most of the time in France if left unlabeled

 

[renegademaster]

At least they're not destroyed (and causing a bomb squad intervention) like they are most of the time in France if left unlabeled

Would they do that even on 3 hour long TGV? I hope we dont become more like Spain just as when it seemed some of the security theater was starting to calm down.

 

[signed]

Would they do that even on 3 hour long TGV?

There is at least one bagage abandonné incident a day here. Which requires security perimeters and all delaying trains usually by an hour at least.

It will always be at stations though, I've never heard that happening outside of stations.

 

[BrianW]

Since when do bags get chucked off if you are not standing next to them? Most intercity trains are stacked with bags by the vesitubles unattended and its not usually an issue

Speculating ... bag left on a seat 'reserved from Reading'??

Or passenger in toilet?

Or listening to whatever on headphones?

Stiill left wondering about why the bag's in any Coach alone- definitely a security risk- 'See it; say it; sorted' in action. Thank you to those seeking to keep us (me) safe.

 

[Haywain]

Since when do bags get chucked off if you are not standing next to them?

When they become identified as lost property. The OP heard 3 announcements and there were likely attempts to identify the owner in that area too.

 

[Paul Kelly]

Since when do bags get chucked off if you are not standing next to them?

I also thought that sounded strange - could it be that the train had terminated at Reading from a previous journey, the passenger owning the bag had boarded early and the train manager was not sure if it had maybe been forgotten by an arriving passenger?

 

[richw]

Suspect the most likely issue is obstructing a wheelchair space that resulted in offloading

 

[Haywain]

Suspect the most likely issue is obstructing a wheelchair space that resulted in offloading

Or a doorway.

 

[40875704]

Unfortunate but I do have some sympathy, I zone out of the interminable announcements after the confirmation of the service. They go on and on and repeated at every station stop. And there are times when they might as well not bother because the tannoys crap or they haven’t been on the “announcements course” and don’t know how to hold the mic so we can hear properly. And you can get ear phones for a couple of quid and blot it all out. I'm sounding like my dad!

 

[ALEMASTER]

If the bag was left where it shouldn't be then the TM was right to deal with it, however no one listens to announcements on most trains as they tend to be a constant source of noise pollution with rubbish about "see it say it sorted", ticket restrictions, safety notices and the rest - you sit down, get headphones on and listed to music or a podcast.

 

[renegademaster]

If it was a case of bag placed in the wrong area of a train , it does seem a bit vindictive to chuck it off the train rather than move it to a luggage rack considering it takes about the same amount of energy to do both.

 

[yorkie]

Yesterday on a cross country service whilst sat in the platform at Reading the train manager did 3 announcements saying we have an unattended bag in coach F with a luggage tag on it, if your name is (what was on the tag) or if you have a bag in coach f please come down to the coach.
Exiting at Oxford, the person whose bag it was, was trying to locate their bag only to be told it was offloaded at Reading.
Should always listen to announcements.

Is there a bit more context to this, please? Such as where the bag was left? Had the train terminated and re-started from Reading?

 

[BrianW]

If it was a case of bag placed in the wrong area of a train , it does seem a bit vindictive to chuck it off the train rather than move it to a luggage rack considering it takes about the same amount of energy to do both.

Is there not a possibility that the owner of the bag had departed the train on its arrival at Reading? Removing the bag there could have been considered a kindness? A lot of speculation here. A lot we don't know. If ...

 

[RGM654]

We don't know why the OP heard the announcements but the bag's owner didn't, but there are several possible reasons, including other passengers yattering.

 

[SIMON in OXF]

We don't know why the OP heard the announcements but the bag's owner didn't, but there are several possible reasons, including other passengers yattering.

Perhaps the person concerned was not first language English?

 

[BrianW]

We don't know why the OP heard the announcements but the bag's owner didn't, but there are several possible reasons, including other passengers yattering.

Did I hear, in the background, announcements being made while Alexie Sayle was 'yattering' with passengers on a train in the Radio4 programme of that name?

 

[exbrel]

If it was a case of bag placed in the wrong area of a train , it does seem a bit vindictive to chuck it off the train rather than move it to a luggage rack considering it takes about the same amount of energy to do both.

but isn't this a negative action, if God forbid it was something not very nice, and it did do something, at the enquiry the question would be "if nobody claimed it after repeated announcements, why was it left/or moved to somewhere else. instead of offloading at he earliest opportunity". What is the offical course of action?

 

[MarkyT]

Perhaps the person concerned was not first language English?

Or was deaf?

 

[renegademaster]

but isn't this a negative action, if God forbid it was something not very nice, and it did do something, at the enquiry the question would be "if nobody claimed it after repeated announcements, why was it left/or moved to somewhere else. instead of offloading at he earliest opportunity". What is the offical course of action?

I haven't heard anything about it being transferred to a bomb squad, so you'd just be blowing up the passengers on the platform instead

 

[MarkyT]

but isn't this a negative action, if God forbid it was something not very nice, and it did do something, at the enquiry the question would be "if nobody claimed it after repeated announcements, why was it left/or moved to somewhere else. instead of offloading at he earliest opportunity". What is the offical course of action?

offloading at a busy station doesn't seem good for security either unless it was immediately taken away for investigation. Moving a suspicious item at all is not the best course of action.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 5 Aug 2024 ==

I haven't heard anything about it being transferred to a bomb squad, so you'd just be blowing up the passengers on the platform instead

There's no clarity as to whether the bag was handed over to anyone for safekeeping or just abandoned on the platform. I expect there's a procedure for train crew handing over items to lost property, via platform staff perhaps.

 

[Llanigraham]

If the bag was left where it shouldn't be then the TM was right to deal with it, however no one listens to announcements on most trains as they tend to be a constant source of noise pollution with rubbish about "see it say it sorted", ticket restrictions, safety notices and the rest - you sit down, get headphones on and listed to music or a podcast.

Well I listen to the announcements, don't own any headphones, and I think this case proves why you should listen.

 

[Jamiescott1]

Is there a bit more context to this, please? Such as where the bag was left? Had the train terminated and re-started from Reading?

It was the Bournemouth to Manchester service which arrived at Reading at 11.05 and departed at 11.15.
I assume from the announcements that the bag was somewhere in coach F.

When the person was telling the train manager he couldn't find his bag, he had a British accent and English was his first language. He was not wearing headphones at the time he was speaking to the train manager

 

[AlterEgo]

Speculating ... bag left on a seat 'reserved from Reading'??

Or passenger in toilet?

Or listening to whatever on headphones?

Stiill left wondering about why the bag's in any Coach alone- definitely a security risk- 'See it; say it; sorted' in action. Thank you to those seeking to keep us (me) safe.

How does removing the bag and moving it necessarily keep people safe if there’s a bomb in it?

 

[RHolmes]

offloading at a busy station doesn't seem good for security either unless it was immediately taken away for investigation. Moving a suspicious item at all is not the best course of action.

Most large stations in London and the North have a “left luggage” (ran by Excess baggage company) where they’re X-rayed upon arrival

 

[exbrel]

i assume the t/m would contact someone or the next practicable station to "receive a suspect package, and have someone there to meet it. From what i've been told to do in these circumstances is not to touch it, switch all mobiles off, and move people away from its vicinity. On a train i know good luck with that... but there have been times.

 

[Senex]

Speculating ... bag left on a seat 'reserved from Reading'??

Or passenger in toilet?

Or listening to whatever on headphones?

Stiill left wondering about why the bag's in any Coach alone- definitely a security risk- 'See it; say it; sorted' in action. Thank you to those seeking to keep us (me) safe.

I wonder what the rules are. I've had bags removed twice, but fortunately not taken off the train.

A good few years ago I was travelling with a colleague, both of us with bags, south from Waverley, and once the train moved off we both left our bags to mark our seats and headed for the restaurant-car (as one did). Back in due course to find bags moved, seats given to others. All quickly sorted by very apologetic guard — but certainly an unpleasant surprise to come back and find things as though we'd never been there (as in some sort of detective novel).

Much more annoying and much more recent when travelling on East Midland Trains from London to Sheffield with just a very small bag, book, newspaper, etc. Seated near end of lightly-load first open. After Derby went to the adjacent toilet (so the "Occupied" light in the vehicle I was in would have come on). I returned not many minutes later to find my table had been cleared — no warning and no notification. On asking another passenger several bays away what was going on, they said the conductor had simply cleared things. So at least I knew where to hear to ask what had happened (no thanks to the railway staff), and I was duly told that the apparently unaccompanied property was a security risk and had therefore been removed.

If one is a lone traveller, without a comrade to leave in the seats, is it now safe to go and use a toilet on a train, let alone go and join a slow-moving queue in a buffet-car?

 

[trainophile]

If the owner's name was on a luggage tag why on earth didn't they have their mobile number on it too? Would have avoided all this hassle.