Abstract: China has become the world′s largest express delivery industry, and the problem of parcel distribution under express logistics surges has gradually become one of the primary bottlenecks for the sustainable development of urban transportation and logistics. Making full use of the accessibility of the stock metro network and the surplus transporting capacity, the cooperative transportation for passengers and freight is a valuable direction for the future development of the metro-based underground logistics system(M-ULS). The authors evaluate the potential for China′s stock metro for express logistics by analyzing the research progress at the application and operational levels of the MULS. Three aspects of bottlenecks and challenges for implementing China′s M-ULS are identified: metro passenger flow constraints under the implementation of the express transportation function, the synergistic transportation mechanism and empirical research on stock metro and underground logistics networks, and the transformation technology and operation maintenance of the express transportation function for metro stations. Moreover, three directions for future research of the M-ULS are proposed, including the accurate quantification method of the remaining capacity of the metro passenger flow in all weather, the last-mile delivery system for the metro station domain, and micro-updating the facilities and space based on the layout of existing metro stations.

Key words: urban underground space; stock metro, underground logistics system, metro-based underground logistics system, express logistics