Every enquiry season has its moment of confusion: guests discover the New Orient Express in February and want to book March. The flagship runs March to October; the deep-winter months belong to a different rail economy, built around the ski slopes of Altay. If a snow-season rail trip is on your mind, here is what actually operates.
The flagship train: China Snow Town, My Altay (K9765/9766)
The winter workhorse is an official themed sleeper the operator launched for the 2025-26 snow season and has kept running: the "China Snow Town · My Altay" express, K9765/9766. It leaves Urumqi at 23:40 and reaches Altay at 09:00, a nine-hour-twenty-minute overnight run that cuts up to four hours off the previous sleeper. Eleven all-berth carriages carry soft sleepers, hard sleepers and a bar car, decorated in the operator's "one train, one landscape" style with carriages named after Altay scenery. Ski-specific touches include dedicated waiting areas and security channels for ski equipment at both terminus stations.
Unlike the luxury flagships, this train is sold as ordinary rail tickets on 12306 and at stations: no package, no tour code, from a few hundred RMB depending on class. It stops at Shihezi, Kuytun and Karamay, and pairs naturally with independent ski trips to the Jiangjunshan, Koktokay or Jikepulin resorts. For overseas travellers this is the lightest possible rail entry into the Chinese snow season: buy a ticket, bring a board.
The packaged option: Snow Country departures
Travel agencies also package winter products on the Urumqi-Altay corridor under names such as the "Snow Country" train. These bundle the sleeper compartment with meals, first-door entrance tickets, a guide and insurance; channel-published 2026 reference pricing started around RMB 6,800 per person in a four-berth soft-sleeper compartment for a short itinerary, with the train running at reduced daytime speed through the Junggar Basin for scenery. Treat these as channel products: dates, inclusions and prices come from the selling agency, so confirm the written breakdown before paying a deposit, as with any packaged tour.
Why the luxury fleet waits for spring
The New Orient Express itinerary depends on alpine roads and high passes: the Duku Highway closes for the season in early October, the Pamir legs get brutally cold, and the Kanas and Hemu wooden villages run reduced winter services. Winterising an 18-car premium fleet for those conditions is not what the product is built for. Historically, a winter ice-and-snow service did reuse New Orient Express carriages on the Altay corridor, but that is not the gold-diamond main product. The flagship calendar returns with the April 2027 season; autumn departures in September are the closest a luxury-rail guest gets to winter light.
Planning a snow-season trip
- · Season: Altay's reliable snow window runs roughly late November to early March; the deepest powder is January-February, at genuine minus-twenty temperatures.
- · Base towns: Altay city for Jiangjunshan ski area; Koktokay and Jikepulin need road transfers from the railhead, usually arranged by hotels or agencies.
- · Combine seasons: a February ski week and a September luxury-rail departure are two different trips; don't plan one around the other.
- · Independence level: the Snow Town train suits independent travellers; the packaged products suit guests who want meals and tickets handled; the luxury fleet resumes in April.
Related reading: the 2027 programme explained · New Orient Express vs Tianshan Express · Xinjiang destination guide
Sources: Xinhua and Xinjiang media reports on the K9765/9766 launch and 2026 winter planning; channel-published 2026 reference pricing for packaged snow-country products. Timetables and prices change by season; confirm current schedules on 12306 or with the selling agency. China Expresses is a booking partner for the luxury fleet, not for the ordinary-ticket snow trains.