Prague Wins 2026 European Tram Championship

Prague’s tram drivers have triumphed over their international rivals at the 2026 European Tram Championship in Warsaw. Across eight demanding disciplines, the driver duo demonstrated precision, skill and nerves of steel.

Prague has won the 2026 European Tram Championship. Vendula Tmejová and Zdeněk Rychtář scored a total of 6,000 points in the competition in Warsaw.

At the twelfth European TramDriver Championship on 19 September, 26 teams from 24 countries competed against each other. After eight demanding disciplines and a total of 52 competitive runs, the Prague driver duo were crowned the new European champions.

Photo: Tram-EM European Tramdriver Championship

Second place went to Ionela Schipor and Florin Olaru from the Romanian city of Oradea with 5,820 points. Raya Zlatareva and Mihail Antoniev from the Bulgarian capital Sofia finished third with 5,775 points.

Precision and Driving Skills Required

The participants had to demonstrate their abilities in a range of disciplines on the course. These included smooth acceleration and braking, maintaining a precise speed of 25 kilometres per hour, stopping at a target, tram bowling, judging lateral distance and throwing a basketball from the driver’s cab.

Photo: Tram-EM European Tramdriver Championship

They also had to stop the tram so that its second door was positioned exactly at a specified point. Another task involved reversing in response to whistle signals. The total time taken was also included in the assessment. The results of the two individual runs were then combined to determine the team ranking.

Prague Drivers Also Successful in Individual Rankings

In addition to the team competition, Europe’s best female and male tram drivers were also honoured.

In the women’s competition, Hilda Polamo from Tampere won with 3,035 points. Anina Lara Knecht from Zurich finished second with 2,980 points. Prague driver Vendula Tmejová came third with 2,825 points.

Photo: Tram-EM European Tramdriver Championship

In the men’s competition, Andrii Bichev from Kyiv won with 3,240 points. Zdeněk Rychtář from Prague finished second with 3,175 points. Third place went to Mihail Antoniev from Sofia with 3,135 points.

Thousands of visitors watched the competition in the centre of Warsaw. Around 80,000 viewers worldwide also followed the event via livestream.

Last year, the first World TramDriver Championship was held to mark the 160th anniversary of Vienna’s tram network. The Czech Republic was represented by a team from Brno, which finished in sixth place. Austria won the competition, ahead of Poland and Norway.

Top 10 at the 2026 European Tram Championship

1. Prague – 6,000 points

2. Oradea – 5,820 points

3. Sofia – 5,775 points

4. Zagreb – 5,560 points

5. Bratislava – 5,555 points

6. Kyiv – 5,410 points

7. Zurich – 5,120 points

8. Odense – 4,980 points

9. Tampere – 4,965 points

10. Istanbul – 4,880 points

Tram EM 2026
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