One team led by Professor Chen Xiaoguang quantitatively evaluated the improvement of air quality along the Beijing Shanghai high-speed railway in the authoritative journal Regional Science and Urban Economics, with an annual health benefit of over 20 billion yuan.

On July 2nd, Professor Chen Xiaoguang, Professor Qin Zhilong from the China Western Economic Research Institute at Southwest University of Finance and Economics, and Dr. Chen Luoye from the Carbon Neutrality and Climate Change Research Center at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou) published a paper titled "High speed rail opening and urban air quality" in Regional Science and Urban Economics. The research focuses on the Beijing Shanghai high-speed railway, which opened in 2009. Using high-resolution satellite remote sensing data from 2009 to 2013, it was found that within six months of the high-speed railway's opening, the average aerosol optical thickness (AOD) in the counties along the line decreased by 6.2%, and the maximum decrease reached 15.4% two years later; The improvement is particularly significant in densely populated counties and districts that are closer to Beijing or Shanghai and have less alternative transportation. According to the WHO Statistical Value of Life Model, reducing air pollution can prevent approximately 3829 premature deaths and reduce 45.9 million 'restricted activity days' annually, with corresponding health and economic benefits of 20.9 billion yuan, equivalent to 9.4% of the construction cost of the Beijing Shanghai high-speed railway. This paper quantifies the environmental and health benefits of high-speed rail, providing a new paradigm for green assessment of transportation infrastructure.