TTT News Preview | The 2024 European Tram Driver Championships

[@TheTimTraveller]

IMPORTANT UPDATE: it appears the organisers have changed the format slightly for 2024, and the tram bowling has been removed from this year's competition :(. Sorry about that. The new format was announced yesterday, too late for this video. However, the tram billiards is still in, along with 5 other challenges! You can watch the livestream here from 11:00 CET: English - kzbin.info/www/bejne/Zp-6loauo6t0gtE Deutsch - kzbin.info/www/bejne/iIK4eGdqlqh0bZY Bear in mind the event is 4 hours long, plus a break for lunch, so you may wish to duck in and out :) The final runs start at 14:00 CET, so the whole thing should be coming to a climax somewhere between 15-16:00 CET. Hope you enjoy!

[@ambarcraft4476]

Nooo not the bowling!

[@heichan8657]

BOOOOO NOT THE BOWLING

[@CallieMasters5000]

First they cancel breaking for LA2028, and now this?! I'm devastated. 😢

[@tijmen131]

Ahhhhh but the bowling is the best part

[@blankseventydrei]

my Deutsch Perfekt has an article on this and they write about the bowling part, sad that it will not be included. 😞

[@konskift]

I do hope this years competition won't be marred by the doping controversies of previous years.

[@relwaretep]

Up to the gills on synthetics, for sure!

[@krzysztofj1993]

Yes, doping has been a problem of this sport for years. I do hope they will perform a complex and public (for transparency reason) urine test before the event starts.

[@lastmatix]

If so it's bound to be going of the rails

[@veganmonter]

It is pretty well known at this point that almost all Trams juice.

[@q_p-q_p]

Snorting rails never fails

[@Stephen_Lafferty]

They had to wait until the Olympics/Paralymics were over so as to not steal their thunder :D

[@YouennF]

Quite the opposite, in fact : the olympic comitee had to find a solution to end every olympic compétition before those, knowing that the public attention would inevitably shift. Notice how every major competition do exactly that : FIFA World cup, superbowl finals, World athletics championship, etc. All dread the face-off and would avoid it all all cost.

[@creepermk]

I am from Hannover, germany, and our local tram (or rather stadtbahn) drivers won in 2022 - the folks who work there are still so proud of that one! Great to see it getting more attention through you!

[@vladutcornel]

Last year, I accidentally witnessed the previous edition. I was randomly visiting Oradea, Romania, and the one and only day I was there, there was this.

[@CptJistuce]

It was destiny.

[@guerreiro943]

Lucky bastard

[@TheOoblick]

This videos complete music: 1. The BBC News Theme 2. The Channel 4 News Theme Thanks Tim

[@JdeBP]

I suspect that Tim adding the theme tune for _It's A Knockout_ as well would have lit up the comments section. (-:

[@Jimmy_Jones]

I knew I wasn't crazy with that

[@bewilderbeestie]

I prefer to think of the first one as the Apocalyptic Rave.

[@nowster]

BBC News "pips" theme, David Lowe. Best Endeavours, Alan Hawkshaw.

[@zork999]

In case anyone is interested, the participating teams are, as listed on their website, Frankfurt (host), Barcelona, ​​Birmingham/West Midlands, Bratislava, Brussels, Budapest, Dublin, Edinburgh, Gothenburg, Kyiv, Krakow, Leipzig, Luxembourg, Lyon, Milan, Oradea, Oslo, Paris, Prague, Rotterdam, Stockholm, Tampere, Zagreb, and Zurich.

[@tamara3984]

I have now very split loyalties 😅

[@nian60]

Thanks for the list. 🙂

[@springbay1]

As long as Gothenburg place ahead of Stockholm, all is good

[@rogink]

@@tamara3984 Sorry - i don't think Split are competing :)

[@Fastvoice]

The Bratislava lover (with his competition tune by Shaggy) will be hard to beat. 😁

[@alberttross7348]

Looking forward to your recap report. No doubt it will be right on track.

[@Plasmastorm73]

Hopefully Tim's commentary doesn't go off the rails...

[@gastonmatthew]

​@@Plasmastorm73This thread is first class

[@bi0530]

@@gastonmatthew Like in "first year of pre-school"

[@freja3187]

I am here came today. Been excited for 2 years to see it irl. Traveled all the way from Denmark just for this

[@Sizerius]

Looks interesting! If you wish to cover a similar industrial event, at the end of next month the Stapler Cup will be held to determine the world's best Forklift driver.

[@DJKLProductions]

There can only be one: Forklift Driver Klaus!

[@giraffesinc.2193]

Oh yes, please go, Tim!

[@AndreaDFC]

It is very interesting, really! Have you a link to a website for this event?

[@azahel542]

This is the most amazing thing I've seen all week 🤣🤣

[@fabianweiss3411]

I‘m a tram driver since two months and I got a goal now

[@vacuumdiagram]

Yessss!

[@Mueller3D]

Now you got me wondering how tram soccer would work? 🙂

[@philiphugoofficial]

I would love to see the Rocky Balboa style training montage

[@GerardMenvussa]

@@philiphugoofficial "training" hehe

[@robertkirchner7981]

Wow. You started YOUNG!!!!

[@drunkenhobo8020]

It's amazing how small obscure competitions like this seem to have a better handle on KZbin than many giant sporting organisations.

[@chriscubingclips]

Thanks for the heads up Tim! Can't wait to watch the livestream tomorrow and your upcoming video afterwards as well!

[@cappuccino_please]

So great! I wanted to go, but i am injured with the leg and decided it was too much standing and walking. I am so happy to see, that I can see it as live stream and as summary in your channel! So great of the VGF Frankfurt tram company to give you press access!

[@sourcererseven3858]

What, no priority seats for injured, disabled and pregnant people? Scandalous!

[@jakeylad7072]

I hope you realize the title "European Tram Driver Championships" implies the existence of the "WORLD Tram Driver Championships"

[@alecclews]

That's the one for US based tram drivers...

[@Dexter037S4]

This basically is the WOrld, being that Europe is the only place with Trams (Toronto and Melbourne do not count, and would suck)

[@dozzzor]

No, there is no World Tramdriver Championships... yet! The first World Tramdriver Championship will be held in Vienna in September 2025! 🥳 There are interested parties from South America, Southeast Asia and Africa and a total of 25 teams will take part in the competition.

[@violetausterlitz1379]

If we can't get a World Championship in real life, I hope we can at least get an anime about it

[@holgerschurig4430]

@@alecclews All two of them? (They perhaps have more, but the USA isn't really known for exceptional public transport ...)

[@Ribeirasacra]

Rumour has it that Valtteri Bottas is there because he will not have a contact next year. Thus he is looking for a drivers seat for the 2025 tram season.

[@Becky_Cooling]

LOL🤣🤣🤣 (that's a joke right?)

[@cabbelos]

Well, Finland does have trams in two cities... (sorry Espoo you don't count)

[@karenhotaru3702]

@TheTimTraveller It was very nice meeting you today and I hope you enjoyed your time in Frankfurt! I never thought I would enjoy this event so much 😃 I am already thinking of traveling to Vienna next year!

[@FreekDijkstra]

About half a year ago I heard about Tram EM, and thought "This has written "Tim" all over it". I've never been more pleased by my lack of original thoughts, and that both Tim and Tram EM had the same idea. Very much looking forward to the live stream and your next video!

[@astorMorisson]

It's always a joy to watch. I remember the last time it was in Berlin

[@1989Nihil]

Welcome to my humble corner of Germany, Tim! Hope you enjoy your stay in Frankfurt. You've likely already visted the Verkehrsmuseum Frankfurt/Traffic Museum Frankfurt, if not, it's worth a visit.

[@jabbertwardy]

Thank you Tim for making me care about something I didn't know existed two minutes ago.

[@ki_ba]

I was at the European Tram Championships in Leipzig the year before last, which was just great fun and a big festival. It's all about fun and good humour.

[@KevinRenfrow]

I've never heard of this before and this is incredible. Looking forward to watching the streams and your video after the event. Thank you for taking the time to post this video in advance; you've given those of us who hadn't heard of it a chance to watch live.

[@gg_vard]

Best sports event of the year

[@hellmuthschreefel9392]

Many thanks Tim. You always give me videos about things I have never heard about, never expected and never knew I needed in my life.

[@CallieMasters5000]

Forget trams, Olympics, ParaOlympics, we all know the biggest sporting event of 2024 is the amazing win of SAN MARINO !!!!!

[@petersumerauer]

Great to know you're in Frankfurt tomorrow. Have a great time!

[@kayelem]

You do indeed know your audience (well, this bit of it, anyway.) I've previously managed to catch this more by accident than anything; it's absolutely enthralling and by far the greatest sporting event of the year. Well, one of them. So thank you for the heads up!

[@holgerschurig4430]

I live some km north of Frankfurt and heard of that event in local radio, HR1 (or HR3, unsure). But I was astonished to see that you're here as well.

[@Romplei]

That's in my hometown, I was wondering what this is. Hope to see you there!

[@retrorocketuk]

The best KZbin news channel!

[@nikibordeaux]

Great, and next week's the world jigsaw puzzle championship. Two exciting competitions in 7 days.

[@xinlu2806]

I will be there and the possibility of meeting you there just made me much more excited!

[@Fuchswinter]

I wanted to go so bad because I've lived not that far away, but I moved to the north this summer. Good to know I still get to experience it through you

[@EmpressSock]

So... you're telling me you're within walking distance of me right now? :D I'm looking forward to this, and i guess i'll keep an eye out for you tomorrow too now!

[@daanwilmer]

This is awesome! Too bad I can't watch live (conflicting plans), but I could always watch the VOD. And your video of course!

[@nf4x]

OMG - thank you so much to the Tim Traveller for bringing this to our attention. Who knew such gripping competition could exist in

[@deetoher]

Thanks for the timely reminder!

[@jamessteel9016]

That’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen, definitely watching it

[@titanicjb]

Thank you for your reminder. But I can't attend today, so I am looking very much forward to seeing it on you channel!

[@nian60]

I normally don't watch sports, but this actually looks fun. 😃 (And you're right, I had never heard of the tram championships). 😄

[@ft4709]

On a side note: The city of Stockholm briefly borrowed some of Frankfurt‘s S stock on Spårväg City back in 2010 (262, 263 and 264 to be precise) and is now sending a team to compete in this year’s tournament. If some crazy coincidence occurs the Stockholm team might manage to win this thing on a vehicle previously used in Stockholm.

[@Quark0611]

Last year, a STIB/MIVB tram driver won the championship. (Sorry, Belgium 🇧🇪, 2 names for everything)

[@Canleaf08]

STIB MIVB is Brussels. De Lijn is Flanders, TEC is Walloon.

[@AndrewTBP]

First Oslo, now Frankfurt, Tim’s becoming an official transit reporter!

[@MargaretUK]

Well, that was an instant click on the notify me tab on the TRAM-EM KZbin channel 😆

[@zkessin]

This is very silly and I love it

[@as37g10]

This tramsport is truely the most fitting video for the channel.

[@t17389z]

What a terrible day to be a Floridian 🗿 I wish we got transit, let alone transit sports.

[@brick6347]

Isn't there a metro in Miami?

[@markuss3735]

@@brick6347 In Florida there would probably be a big fuss because it contains the word "trans" in it. They would accuse participants that they want to "trans" it.

[@owenstockwood5040]

@@brick6347 That's a different form of transport. I would imagine they would be happy to have teams from US Streetcar and Light Rail systems, as those are just the American terms for trams, but unfortunately no one has invented a Metro Driver Championships yet.

[@bostonrailfan2427]

your larger transit agencies have bus rodeos, similar to this but with buses

[@t17389z]

@@brick6347 Miami has commuter heavy rail (Tri-rail), interurban heavy rail (Brightline, Amtrak) a metro-style heavy rail elevated subway (Metrorail), and a people mover (Metromover). All of these systems interconnect, with the mild exception of Amtrak (Station located in the middle of a heavy freight rail yard on the outskirts of town, but you can get on at another station like Ft Lauderdale that is shared with Tri-Rail if you want to take transit the whole way)

[@penihavir1777]

😁♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️ Thank you so much for making this channel!!!!!!!! No way I’d have heard about this on my own.

[@giraffesinc.2193]

The PERFECT event for Tim! Can't wait to see his video!

[@Ganiscol]

Did they actually haul the trams from their respective city/country to Frankfurt? I noticed several different models, so it doesnt look like its just trams from Frankfurt... 🤔

[@TheTimTraveller]

Haha no they will use trams from Frankfurt :) The other trams shown in the video are from last year's competition in Oradea, Romania.

[@arno_nuehm]

@@TheTimTraveller The tram in the thumbnail got me thinking it would be held in Vienna, but it seems the viennese ULF (ultra low floor) tram has made it to Oradea, 0:56: TIL.

[@dozzzor]

@@arno_nuehm But the good news, the competition will be in Vienna next year. Right in front of the Rathaus.

[@TheTimTraveller]

@arno_nuehm Yes! And it's possible that this played a small part in Vienna's victory last year... :)

[@haeffound]

@@TheTimTraveller Funny that the home team is very rarely winning these, they should be the one who know there tram and network best. It’s good to see the competition moving around Europe. Hope for one in France one day, Bordeaux, Lille or Paris could be good destinations.

[@douglasboyle6544]

You're right, this is amazing! 🎉

[@cianoreillycork]

If this was Irish public transport competing they’d all show up extremely late or never show up at all 😭

[@georgegeorge448]

I am watching that while waiting for a bus in cork

[@zork999]

There is a team from Dublin.

[@owenstockwood5040]

Well, having just checked the livestream, Dublin is participating, so hopefully they will actually turn up.

[@Dexter037S4]

*Canadian

[@rocko44444444]

Yap, the Irish subway drivers competing with the Irish trolleybus drivers.

[@ChrisGamingNL333]

Thank you KZbin algorithm for recommending me this today so I can actually watch live

[@rambunctiousmedia3350]

Looking forward to this! STAY WEIRD, MAINLAND EUROPE!

[@LukasMohr-rk3xx]

Unbelivable what this guy finds in the world, just love it!

[@patrickl2195]

And now over to our tram driving championship corespondent in Frankfurt…

[@goldcube8427]

Is there any chance to watch the Event with you? I'm a student currently living in frankfurt and a longtime viewer of your channel :D

[@dadrumer]

We will be there. I hope to see you there! ❤❤❤❤

[@vojtechvanek1686]

It's fire! 🔥 🔥 🔥 Hope no hooligans fights will interrupt the championship!

[@jacktattersall9457]

You know that Keolis Downer Yarra Trams, the current operator of the Melborune Tram franchise under contract to the Victorian State Government until the end of the year when Transdev John Holland Yarra Journey Makers takes over, competed in the 2022 European Tram Driver Championships.

[@dianahellman9254]

Wow, this sounds amazing!!!!

[@saphirosa2874]

I live near Frankfurt, and I'm fresh from my Finland vacation, perfect timing to watch the event right on the location 😁

[@cesariojpn]

0:18 Tim recreated the BBC Countdown Timer music!!

[@Jimmy_Jones]

And Channel 4

[@HenryGK]

Paused the video on the guy in the WM Metro shirt. 99% I recognise the driver in the background from the New Street to Edgbaston Village run.

[@Professor_sckinnctn]

Totally going to watch tomorrow!

[@rrad8106]

This is MARVELOUS!

[@Lawman212]

Oh man. I'm really looking forward to this video.

[@edwardburek1717]

I do hope this magnificent event is hosted by the city of Birmingham soon, or/ even Wolverhampton!

[@quinnkneller7630]

Great video, nice to see some behind the scenes stuff. Shame about the bowling though. Did also get to see the steam tram in nearby Darmstadt?

[@PaulSmith-pl7fo]

Hi Tim. Whatever next? You said that tram drivers from all over Europe will be competing, but you didn't say whether there were any from the UK.

[@TheTimTraveller]

Worth looking closely at the people's uniforms on screen at that exact moment ;) (But in case you're watching on a small screen: the UK is represented by teams from Edinburgh and the West Midlands Metro)

[@garryferrington811]

Looking forward to the next video! 💙

[@bungaIowbill]

Tram Euros and GeoGuessr world cup. What a day for sports

[@jtd8719]

I hope ESPN 'the ocho' carries this. It's no sillier than (wait for it) belt sander racing - which I have actually seen on that channel in the US.

[@cool110]

They've shown it in previous years

[@voneschenbachmusic]

Yessss! What a delightful thing!

[@magesnz]

I thought you had the bbc news playing, it’s pretty awesome especially when your the one playing it

[@Frankfurtdabezzzt]

Very cool, I hope to see you there!

[@Frankfurtdabezzzt]

I actually saw you at the beginning! But you seemed a bit in a hurry so I didn't want to bother you. I thought maybe later, but didn't expect the sheer volume of people attending! It was a great event with a very cheerful crowd!

[@XEinstein]

For anyone wondering why the tram's display says Tram EM: European Championship in German is Europa Meistershaft

[@AndrewTBP]

We need an opera about this stat!

[@Steroumel]

This is definitely *the* sport event of the year.

[@domramsey]

I'm looking forward to the diving and dressage events the most!

[@mrpurple2943]

wait.... This may be my sport, my calling! I just need a tram...

[@Thomascanning747]

Thank you for the heads up. Watched some live today- will you be posting a video about the day?

[@petedenton9434]

I can't wait to see your footage when you post it.

[@NopWorks]

Now that's a sporting event that I'm actually enthusiastic about!

[@brianmckeever5280]

Enjoy the competition! I look forward to the followup video! I'll be in Morocco for two weeks starting next week, is there any TTT recommendations for Morocco I should try to see?

[@robvanderburgt]

Can't wait for the opening ceremony

[@kerezol]

this is what the world should be like

[@fog99uk]

Spotted the Transport for Edinburgh logo on someone's high-vis. Nice to see the renowned and respected European Tram Drivers' Championship still considers Scotland as European.

[@danvernier198]

The UK even gets to double dip, Edinburgh and Birmingham. But at least it's not just the UK sending multiple teams like in more popular sports, Germany, France and Sweden also have two teams each.

[@ayansharma8281]

You remixed the 'BBC NEWS Minutes' intro beat for the background music, didn't you?

[@Anthestudios]

I'm so upset that I didn't know this was a thing. I would've totally come to Frankfurt just for this

[@PopeLando]

The BBC Trance-Rave News theme isn't the same without the beeps.

[@Powered_By_Pies]

I was wondering if you might be in Lille this weekend for the Braderie but to be fair the European Tram Championship is a decent enough alternative!

[@michaelcolin9887]

I'm a tram fan 20 km away from Frankfurt, but it takes a Tim Traveller update to make me aware of this competition.

[@bostonrailfan2427]

i have heard of bus rodeos doing the same so this doesn’t surprise me…an actual test of reactions and reflexes but with fun

[@Autumn-litchies008]

What ! I didn't know that existed 😲 That's underrated It should be part of the official olympics games !!!

[@Graham_Rule]

I saw some Edinburgh Trams folk there. Will there be a round on pushing badly parked vehicles out of the way? I'm sure that that's a sport they would be great at, if only they were actually allowed to practice on Leith Walk. And thanks for the excuse to miss the parkrun.

[@wtfbuddy1]

No spoilers people - want to watch Tim's play by play next week. Cheers

[@Zenas521]

This sounds amazing.

[@Mickmickster]

Since Tom Scott stopped his channel, Tim has been my go to.