Research on vehicle routing optimization for multi-center railway commodity car distribution

The Multi-Depot Vehicle Routing Problem (MDVRP) is a core challenge in logistics optimization. This study takes the Beijing branch of China Railway Special Cargo as a case study, addressing the vehicle delivery problem for 149 4S stores served by two distribution centers (Pinggu and Shunyi) and proposes a hybrid optimization framework. We transform the MDVRP into a single-depot VRP using decomposition methods, the geometric center approach, and a virtual distribution center strategy, and solve it with OR-Tools, Gurobi, genetic algorithms, ant colony algorithms, and a custom strategy algorithm. Experiments based on real data from March to May 2021 show that the optimized solution reduces total mileage by 1.68% and total costs by 3.63% compared to manual planning. The developed prototype system has been successfully applied in actual production, significantly improving delivery efficiency. This study provides theoretical and practical references for multi-depot logistics optimization.