Recently, the “Northwest Regions—Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Road-Rail-Water Multimodal Transport with Multifunctional Vehicles” project initiated by the Railway Wagon Company under National Energy Investment Group (NEIG) was included by the Ministry of Transport on the second list of National Multimodal Transport Demonstration Projects.
        Multimodal transport is a form of transportation of goods in one and the same loading unit or road vehicle, using successively two or more modes of transport without handling the goods in changing modes. Conducive to improving transport efficiency, reducing costs, easing highway congestion, and decreasing traffic accidents, this transport mode can bring considerable economic and social benefits and contribute to energy saving and environmental protection.
        As the only project that involves three modes of transport among the second group of National Multimodal Transport Demonstration Projects, the “Northwest Regions—Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Road-Rail-Water Multimodal Transport with Multifunctional Vehicles” project provides a solution for combined transport between inland and coastal regions, which will play an important role in expanding the Belt and Road Initiative to North China.
        On the basis of the “internet plus” and big data, the project is aimed at establishing a “smart logistics and multimodal transport platform” that features an “internet + road-rail combined transport” pattern, integrating online data of transport capacity with truck-train matching, cargo and vehicle tracking, one-click transaction, one-stop service, payment and settlement, credit guarantee and financial service. The eventual goal is to reduce costs and increase efficiency through lowering transaction costs and matching transport capacity and demand in a more efficient way.