The TRAM-WM World Tramdriver Championship (formerly the TRAM-EM European Tramdriver Championship) is the world championship for competitive tram driving.
History In 2012, the first Tram-EM (German: Tram-Europameisterschaft, or Tram European Championship) was created for the 140th anniversary of the Dresden tram network. The championship is hosted yearly in Europe by rotating local transit companies in cooperation with the Dresden-based production company that created the concept.
TRAM-EM has been a registered trademark since 2014.
Going from European to World Championship In 2022, a non-European team was invited to compete for the first time, with Melbourne, Australia joining the event in Leipzig and finishing 10th. In 2024, Wiener Linien announced on their website that they planned to host the event in 2025 and to turn it into a World Championship by inviting teams from Africa, South America, Southeast Asia and Australia. In September 2025 it was confirmed that the 2025 iteration of the competition in Vienna was to be the first World Championship. Melbourne, Australia will host the next World Championship in 2027, with Warsaw, Poland hosting a European Championship the year prior.
Concept
The Tram-EM competition is a team competition where each team consists of one female tram driver, one male tram driver and one team supervisor. The competition is open to European public transport agencies, who may submit one team each.
The championship is split into two rounds, with each driver taking the controls once. Each round consists of 6 disciplines. The disciplines could be stopping at a target, emergency braking, measuring side clearance during a curve, stopping exactly at a tram stop, speed estimation with a hidden speedometer, precision driving past a gate, "tram billiards," or "tram bowling." The skill at each discipline, in addition to the time to complete each discipline, influences the score. The event includes a team procession, practice rounds, social events for drivers, competition, and award ceremony.
The competitions have long been tied-in to public celebrations of the hosting transit agency, such as the 140th anniversary of the Dresden tram network, the 10th anniversary of the Barcelona tram network, and the 150th anniversary of the Viennese tram network. The goal of the competition is to give tram operators an international platform to share experience.
Events
+YearHost countryLocationWinning country WinnerDate2012 Dresden Budapest29–30 September 20122013Budapest Paris24 November 20132014BarcelonaParla22 November 20142015ViennaRotterdam25 April 20152016BerlinBudapest23 April 20162017TenerifeParis4 June 20172018StuttgartStockholm5 May 20182019BrusselsBrussels4 May 20192020*Oradea* — — —20212022LeipzigHanover21 May 20222023OradeaVienna3 June 20232024FrankfurtBudapest14 September 20242025ViennaVienna13 September 2025 2026 Warsaw Prague 19 September 20262027Luxembourg City——3 July 2027 2028 Melbourne — — — * originally postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but eventually cancelled
2023 edition The 2023 edition was hosted in Oradea, Romania, after the planned 2020 edition had to be postponed and ultimately canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. PositionCountryCityPoints 1 Vienna 43002 Göteborg 41803 Prague36304 Stockholm 35905 Zagreb 34506 Dublin 34307 Oslo3280 8Rotterdam3250 9 Szeged320010 Basel309011Kosice305012Brussels305013Warsaw3030 14 Oradea302015 Leipzig294016 Debrecen290017Bordeaux285018 Barcelona284019 Nuremberg281020 Hanover269021 Berlin261022 Málaga245023 Florence241024Kyiv233025 Dresden2300
2024 edition The 2024 edition was held in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. 26 teams of two members each (at least one woman for each team) took part. The rolling stock used was Bombardier Flexity Classic which are designated Baureihe S by the Frankfurt tramway operator. Each competitor partook in six tasks worth a maximum of 500 points each with the overall time taken worth another 500 points. Each team of two participants did the whole tournament once each, resulting in a total theoretical maximum of 7,000 points per team. Here are the final results:
PositionCountryCityPoints 1 Budapest 38502 Brussels 38003 Kraków31004 Rotterdam 29005 Paris 28006 Vienna 27007Milan26508Gothenburg26009 Stockholm255010Berlin245010Prague245012Tampere240013Luxembourg225014Birmingham215014Bratislava215016 Frankfurt am Main210017Leipzig200018Kyiv190018Dublin190018Zurich 190021 Barcelona185022Oslo180022Edinburgh180024Oradea175025 Lyon170026Zagreb1600
2025 edition The 2025 championship was the first to invite teams from multiple countries outside Europe. It was thus renamed "TRAM-WM World Tramdriver Championship". The championship took place in Vienna on 13 September.
The championship featured two drivers representing each country, with a team's overall score finalised after two runs of the each challenge; points were also awarded for overall speed. The structure of the championship was not significantly different from other years. Challenge Description Stop and Go A container of water is attached to the front of the tram. The driver has to stop in three target areas while trying to avoid spilling the water. More points are awarded the less water is spilled. Speed and target braking The driver must accelerate to 25 km/h, without the use of a speedometer, then stop in a target area. Tram Bowling The driver must hit a large ball into five pins. Points are awarded for each pin knocked over, but if the tram itself hits a pin, no points are awarded. Precision reversing The driver must reverse the tram, while receiving audio cues from their teammate (who has a whistle), with points awarded based on how close the tram stops to the centre of the target area. Lateral distance The driver and their teammate place an obstacle at the side of the track. Points are awarded for how close to the side of the tram the object is after the driver drives toward it. Zero points are awarded if the tram hits the obstacle. Exact stop The driver must stop the tram, with points awarded for how close the second door is to the centre of the target area. Tram Curling A trolley is placed in front of the tram and pushed. Points are awarded for how close the trolley is to the centre of the target area after it stops. Results PositionCountryCityPoints 1 Vienna 55992 Poznań52443Oslo51404 Budapest 49545Kyiv48636Brno47507Berlin/Leipzig47198 Brussels 44479Oradea442510Riga 441511Florence417712 Paris 413712Tenerife413714Stockholm410515Casablanca397716Dublin396417Rio de Janeiro390018Edinburgh355519 Rotterdam 348820Tampere345721San Diego334422Oran328723 Melbourne326924Hong Kong314725Zagreb1875
2026 edition Challenge DescriptionPoints1 Stop and Go A container of water is attached to the front of the tram. The driver has to stop in three target areas while trying to avoid spilling the water. More points are awarded the less water is spilled.The more water that remains, the more points2&3Speed and target brakingThe driver must accelerate to 25 km/h, without the use of a speedometer (2), then stop in a target area. (3)4Tram BowlingThe driver must hit a large ball into five pins. Points are awarded for each pin knocked over, but if the tram itself hits a pin, no points are awarded.5Lateral distanceThe driver and their teammate place an obstacle at the side of the track. Points are awarded for how close to the side of the tram the object is after the driver drives toward it. Zero points are awarded if the tram hits the obstacle.6Tram basketball The driver needs to lean out the window and shoot basketballs into a hoop, there a 5 balls 100 points per successful shot 7Exact stopThe driver must stop the tram, with points awarded for how close the second door is to the centre of the target area.8Precision reversingThe driver must reverse the tram, while receiving audio cues from their teammate (who has a whistle) based on how close the tram stops to the centre of the target area.
PositionCountryCity1st Round2nd RoundTotal1 Prague2825317560002 Oradea2820300058203 Sofia2615313557504 Zagreb3060250055605 Bratislava2495306055556 Kyiv3240217054107 Zurich2980214051208 Odense2245273549809 Tampere19303035496510 Istanbul24852395488011 Oslo24052445485012 Gorzów Wielkopolski23102530484013 Warsaw24302390482014 Milan26952100480515 Gothenburg22402400464016 Riga17902735452517 Frankfurt18002620442018 Vienna17002690439019 Rotterdam22002145434520 Edinburgh24751670414521 Lyon20651980404522 Barcelona17252250397523 Luxembourg17452060380524 Budapest16702105377525 Melbourne19551475343026 London135017203070
References
External links TRAM-EM Website (for the European edition of the championship) TRAM-WM Website (for the World edition of the championship)