The rail industry in China is heavily relied upon and has seen rapid development despite starting later than in other developed countries. However, due to the vast size of China and its ever-growing population, the rail network has capacity related challenges, particularly during holidays such as the Chinese Spring Festival. Sleeper cabins within trains take a lot of space, but in exchange for a small passenger capacity. In Europe, trains with sleeper cabins do not tend to be at full capacity, and passengers have the option to choose a seat or a bed. China currently has very few trains with sleeper cabins and those that do have the facility, are poorly designed. As the Chinese economy grows and personal wealth increases, people are choosing to travel by train. There is therefore a clear benefit in reevaluating the design of the sleeper cabins within trains in China.

Modular design is a modern approach to achieving economical, flexible and efficient solutions. Production is simplified with the modular design approach, as components are shared rather than unique, thus simplifying the manufacturing process and driving down costs. This design approach is the future for industrial products.