Melbourne's tram team finishes second last

The Tramaroos competed at the 2026 European TramDriver Championship in Warsaw on Saturday. Despite Melbourne having one of the world's largest tram networks, the team finished second last, ahead only of London.

Twenty-six teams tackled precision driving tasks

The event featured demanding tasks inspired by tram drivers' day-to-day work. These included smooth stop and go with a water bowl, speed control at twenty-five kilometres per hour, target braking, tram bowling, lateral distance, basketball, and reverse rides guided by whistle commands.

Prague pair won the championship title

Vendula Tmejová and Zdeněk Rychtář from Prague in the Czech Republic won this year's title. The championship saw thousands of fans watch live in Warsaw, with about eighty thousand viewers worldwide watching via livestream.

Melbourne's team represented Australia

Yarra Trams sent Ivan Cavanagh from Southbank depot and Claudia Barrientos from Kew depot to compete as the Tramaroos. Australia was the first non-European country chosen to participate when it joined in two thousand twenty-two.

Cavanagh joked about the trophy's destination

Had the Tramaroos won, the trophy would have gone straight to the pool room, Cavanagh said. Daniel Bowen from the Public Transport Users Association called it an unusual event and an opportunity to find inspiration from other tram systems worldwide.

“straight to the pool room”

Melbourne will host the championship in twenty twenty-seven

The next European TramDriver Championship will be held in Melbourne in two thousand twenty-seven. Bowen said it would be interesting to see if other Australian cities join, given recent light rail extensions in Adelaide, Sydney, Canberra and the Gold Coast.