The Tram Drivers of Europe Show Their Mastery

Oradea recently hosted the European Tram Driver Championship, the 10th edition, organized with the participation of 25 teams from several European cities

Ana-Maria Cononovici, 22.08.2023, 14:00

Oradea recently hosted the European Tram Driver Championship, the 10th edition, organized with the participation of 25 teams from several European cities. The contest took place on a 130-meter section in the central area of the city (from Independence Street and Union Square). The teams, made up of a driver, a woman driver, and a technical assistant, had to complete six tests to prove their professional skills, generically named: ‘Perfect Stop’, ‘Emergency Braking’, ‘Lateral Distance’, ‘Tram – bowling’, ‘TRAM-billiards’, but also a new trial. The European Tram Driver Championship in Oradea was won by the Viennese crew, and the Romanians came in 14th. Adrian Revnic, general manager of the Oradea Local Transportation Company, told us:

In Oradea, the 10th edition of this European Tram Driving Championship, took place, and we already believe that this championship is already tradition . It started as an effort by transport companies in Europe to promote urban public transport, and also to create links between European cities. This year, 25 teams participated in Oradea, 24 from Europe, one from Oradea: Barcelona, Bassel, Berlin, Bordeaux, Brussels, Debrecen, Dresden, Dublin, Florence, Gotteborg, Hanover, Kosice, Kiev, Leipzig, Malaga, Oslo , Oradea, Prague, Nurnberg, Rotterdam, Stockholm, Szeged, Vienna, Warsaw, Zagreb. As you can see, many capitals in Europe, many metropolises, many beautiful cities!

We asked Adrian Revnic, the general manager of the Oradea Local Transportation Company, what the competition tests consist of, which seem, beyond mastery, to contain a lot of humor:

In general, the Championship has 4-6 tests, it depends the configuration of the routes and the configuration of the infrastructure of the city where the championship is held. This year, we had six tests. Each team has two members, a lady and a gentleman, they go through these tests in two stages: once the tram driver and once the lady colleague. In Oradea, the tests consisted of ‘Stopping at a fixed point’, in a test with a pool table in which the tram hit the cue, and the cue, by positioning the ball, gave you a score. After that, there was a test to put out a fire, and another test in which the tram passes by an inattentive citizen, who is a mannequin, but who is placed within the gauge of the tram. A test in which the tram had to stop with the third door at a fixed point and the last test, the most spectacular from the spectators’ point of view, a bowling test, in which a large ball had to hit six pins and knock them down.

Two hundred guests, local personalities, speakers at the conference, participants, were all very impressed by the event, as Adrian Revnic, general director of the Oradea Local Transport Company, told us, who added:

We started organizing this championship in Oradea, based on the following premise: we have the impression that everything in Europe is more beautiful than in Romania. We tried to prove that Romania, Oradea, is not inferior to any other city in Europe. For three years we have been trying to hold this championship in Oradea, primarily to promote the beauty of this city, culture, tradition, and everything that involves the social and cultural side of the city of Oradea. Fortunately for us, this year it overlapped with this mini-holiday in June, in which a lot of tourists, from Băile Felix, or tourists on a city-break in Oradea, took full advantage of this contest, which does not necessarily want to promote the competition, but the part where people feel good. On this occasion, in Union Square, all kinds of workshops for children, food trucks with street food, all kinds of other related activities, were set up. This event was held over two days, the first day consisting of a conference of the Railway Club, and on the second day the actual event took place, the competition to which we had a very large influx of spectators.

The European tram driver Championship was won by the representatives of the city of Vienna, Sandra Kaider and Andreas Kainrad. The team from Gotteborg ranked second, and the team from Prague ranked third. The Oradea team, made up of Karoly Eva and Leonte Onita, ranked 14th. Adrian Revnic told us what the prizes consisted of:

The prizes this year consisted of medals, diplomas, cups, and other gifts representing the traditions of Bihor, because, together with a pottery company from Vadu Crişului, we offered them hand-made ceramics, white painted ceramic. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places received these ceramic vases, and three teams, Best ranked newcomer’, ‘The oldest competitor’ and The most popular team, received some very nicely decorated plates.

We found out that the Newest well-ranked crew of debutantes was the one from Zagreb, The oldest competitor – Olah Hofman, from Leipzig, and The most popular team was the one from Warsaw, whose members came accompanied by a large fan gallery. The prizes for the best drivers were: 1st place – Jen Collins, from Dublin, 2nd place – Robert Ionson, a Romanian settled in Sweden of Gotteborg, and 3rd place – Dominic Jurcevici from Zagreb.