Study of Metro Freight Path Optimization Considering Passenger and Cargo Requirements

To address the issues of urban traffic congestion, safety hazards in freight transportation, and environmental pollution caused by the sharp increase in current freight demand, this study organizes freight transportation using existing urban metro networks during off-peak passenger transport hours and combines it with trucks to complete last-mile delivery. With the goal of minimizing total transportation costs, an optimization model for metro freight transportation paths is established, considering customer time windows, different types of freight demands, flexible freight Origin-Destination (OD) between various metro stations, and the impact of freight transportation on metro passengers. The Gurobi solver is used to solve the model. Finally, taking Shenzhen Metro Line 11 as a case study, the effectiveness of the model is verified. The results show that compared to standalone truck transportation, metro freight transportation reduces the total cost by 10.38%, and all customer demands are delivered on time within their respective time windows.