Vienna Tram World Cup: Two champions fight for the title in September!

Vienna Tram World Cup: Two champions fight for the title in September!

On April 6, 2025, an exciting event took place in Vienna: the internal qualification for the first Tram World Championship, which will be held in the Austrian capital in 2025. Wiener Linien organized the competition on Rathausplatz, in which 40 employees took part. The performances of Elisabeth Urbanitsch and Florijan Isaku, who were named winners in the women and men categories, were particularly outstanding. Mayor Michael Ludwig and Managing Director of Wiener Linien, Alexandra Reinagl, presented them with the honors.

The Tram World Championship will be an international event that brings together participants from 24 cities and six continents. The aim of the event is to present the importance of public transport as a unifying element. As part of the qualification, the drivers had to complete various tests, including stopping exactly at a stop and braking precisely from high speed.

Competition details

The qualification tasks included:

• Exaktes Halten an einer Haltestelle: Zug musste mit der dritten Türe mittig bei einer Markierung halten.
• Zielbremsung: Punktgenaues Halten aus hohem Tempo auf einer Messplatte.
• Geschwindigkeit: Halten von 20 km/h über 50 Meter ohne Sicht auf den Tacho.

This is a very special challenge for Viennese tram drivers. The European Tram Championship has been taking place since 2012, in which tram drivers from various European cities compete. Vienna recently emerged as the title holder of the European Tram Championships after the Wiener Linien team won the European Championship title in 2023.

An international event

The next European Tram Championship will be held in Frankfurt on September 14, 2024. However, the focus has already turned to the Tram World Championship, which will take place in Vienna. Mayor Ludwig emphasizes the importance of public transport for the quality of life in Vienna, while Monika Unterholzner, the deputy general director of Wiener Stadtwerke, emphasizes the crucial role of public transport for the city. Interest in the Tram World Championship is also growing internationally, with inquiries from South America, Southeast Asia and Africa.

The official invitation to the first Tram World Championship will be published in January 2024. A total of 25 teams will take part in this exciting competition, with vehicles provided by the host transport companies. Further information on this event is expected in spring 2024.

The 2025 Tram World Championship promises to be an extraordinary event that not only focuses on the skills of tram drivers, but also sends a clear signal: public transport connects people worldwide and is an indispensable part of urban mobility.

For further details on the upcoming Tram World Championship and reflections on public transport in Vienna, those interested can read the articles from oe24 and presse.wien.gv.at consult.