In order to speed up design and reduce the cost of tests in developmen t of a 900 ton brigdeerecting machine for highspeed railways, the concept of l ink intelligent master model(LIMM) was brought forward. Virtual tests and optima l design methods were researched based on the multisoftware cosimulation. A seamless linking of the data flow was realized by analyzing the data in the system of communication and exchange model between interfaces. A multi software cosimulation platform was established and a simulation of six typical situations of the bridgeerecting machine was completed. The machine has been employed in the construction of HarbinDalian railway line. The data from physical prototype test is consistent with that from digital prototype forecasting, which shows the me thod is workable and reliable.