Amid high-fives from fellow drivers and the popping of crémant corks, a LuxTram driver has broken the national tram speed record after reaching a top speed of 23.7 kilometers per hour.
The daring feat was performed on Tuesday morning between the LuxExpo and P+R Héienhaff stops, a stretch of tracks known to most drivers as Devil’s Run.
Driver and newly crowned national record holder Miguel Sapateiro, who has been training for the death-defying speed run for years, says that he wasn’t sure he was going to make it.
“I saw the speedometer going up to nineteen and then twenty, and my palms got sweaty, and my heart raced,” he said. “When you’re going that fast in a tram, it’s normal to doubt yourself.”
Thanks to his training and breathing techniques he learned from Sherpa guides who accompany climbers on Mount Everest, he pressed on, his gaze fixed on the track in front of him even as the speed crept ever higher to twenty-one and eventually twenty-two kilometers per hour.
“At such speeds, it’s hard to keep your cool, let alone see well,” he says. “The trees were zipping by me on either side. Well, not zipping, but let’s say, moving at a brisk pace, like when you’re late for a job interview so you hurry up and half-sprint even though you are dressed up and wearing nice shoes.”
For a moment, the tram speed seemed to top off at 22 km/h, just below the previous record of 22.3 km/h that was set in 2023 by Bernard “Blëtz” (“Lightening”) Ries.
“But I stayed focused, overrode the autonomous driving system as much as is allowed by law, the Ministry, and my company, and watched the speed keep climbing all the way past twenty-three. I felt like Maverick in the ‘Top Gun’ sequel.”
By the time Sapateiro hit 23.7 km/h, he was speeding to a new record.
“I was passing joggers pushing babies in prams and even pensioners on bicycles,” he said. “It was totally exhilarating.”
