| TRAINS & TRAVEL P.O. BOX 10625 RENO, NEVADA 89510-0625 Chris@traintrips.biz Rail Tours Manager. For question regarding tour itineraries and details. Deborah@traintrips.biz Office Manager: Accounting |
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1-800 359-4870 USA 1-800 752-1836 CANADA 1-800 266-8751 FAX (530) 836-1944 |
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While QJs no long storm up Jingpeng Pass, there remain a half dozen or so worthwhile steam venues in China. This tour is designed to visit the best of these, as well as to allow time in Beijing at the start of the tour. Tour price includes all hotels on shared rooms (single available for extra), all transportation and transfers, domestic flights, soft class sleepers with four berth private compartments for overnight rail , all meals starting with dinner on September 1 through breakfast on September 19, the services of bi-lingual Chinese National Guide Mr. Zhao (a 20-year veteran of steam tours); USA group leader Ronald McElrath; and certain entrance fees. You are responsible for flight arrangements to and from Beijing, visa (we will assist), and expenses of a personal nature, along with entrance fees which are not included, red cap assistance if you need it at stations, and other miscellaneous expenses. There is always more to buy in China than people expect; allow a minimum of $800 or so to bring in cash (ATMs are rarely available, and banks often do not exchange currency, so it is best to do this in Beijing at the start of this tour).
At this time of year you will not need winter clothing, but do bring some sweaters or light jackets for those chilly mornings up north. It is rare, but not unknown, for snow to fly near the Russian border in September. Plan to pack as light as possible; two smaller suitcases are preferable to a large one for stowage on trains and buses. A more detailed letter will be sent later to tour members, along with a guidebook and maps to explain the places to be visited, plus detailed hotel information. Overview: Steam is still employed on several local coal and industrial railways in China, the only country on earth where this is true in 2009! In Sandaoling, the Mine Railway there recently constructed a boiler shop to tend to it's fleet of JS and SY 2-8-2s which they intend to keep active for at least five more years. Previously, these engines had to travel long distances to the now closed China Rail steam overhaul shop in Lanzhou. In other places, some diesels have already arrived or have been ordered. Our itinerary may be modified as needed should steam no longer operate at one of our six planned locations, but as of May it appears steam is "GO" at all these places. DAY 1 TUESDDAY SEPTEMBER 1: Arrive into Beijing (or arrive early to see more of China's capital city). A welcome dinner will be held at 6 PM, so try to arrive by early afternoon if at all possible. We will stay at the Sino-Swiss Hotel, which offers free shuttle service from the international airport, only ten minutes away. Sino-Swiss offers a wonderful breakfast buffet, and has an indoor / outdoor pool among other amenities. Optional Chaoyang Acrobats Show in evening. DAY 2 WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 2: Morning visit to the Great Wall; Afternoon to sites to be announced including the Railway Museum and Forbidden City; Sunset dinner at Summer Palace with it's lakes and gardens. DAY 3 THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 3: Flight to Manzhouli, transfer to Jalainuur where we spend two nights. DAY 4 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 4: Full day at open pit coal mine, with it's large fleet of 2-8-2s (SY type). Note the dual trackage where the Russian line connects. This pit is slated to close after 2009, and trucks will be used at the new mine which you will also see. DAY 5 SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 5: Most of this day for more Jalainuur steam, then we depart at 6:13pm on Train N92 with dinner in the diner. DAY 6 SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 6: Arrive Harbin at 7:48am. City tour, with it's wonderfully eclectic architecture, then train N7 at 1:44pm for the ride to Huanan, arriving at 7:57pm. DAY 7 MONDAY SEPTEMBER 7: Huanan Narrow Gauge coal trains, which operate up a twisting mountain line. This line has been featured in several magazine articles, and made a great visit in 2006. For about $20, you may wish to hire a motorcycle taxi to travel the line and get into position to photograph trains, as there are no roads once the tracks start up into the hills. At one point, a second 0-8-0 loco is used as a pusher to help loaded trains over the summit. There have been instances where the mine was temporarily closed for inspection, or a derailment curtailed operations. Should this occur, we will spend more time at nearby Ji'Xi. DAY 8 TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 8: Transfer to Ji'Xi for one night. Five rail lines make up this system; sometimes you may see two trains at once. There is one diesel here as of May, so there will be plenty of steam. One particular delight here is to get out at sunrise to observe the servicing procedure. Coal slurry is dumped from miniature hopper cars near the wahery, into which the loaded trains arrive. DAY 9 WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 9: Ji'Xi steam in the morning. At 7:15pm we depart by train for Shenyang on soft class (4 persons per compartment) sleepers. Option to buy extra berths for more space if desired. DAY 10 THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 10: Arrive 9:33am at Shenyang, then bus transfer to Fuxin, site of a busy coal railway. There are several mines in this system, including a recently closed open pit operated by electric trains. A few diesels handle some tasks, and may be assigned to the passenger train which links the far flung mines. Check out the novel "exploding" method for making popcorn! DAY 11 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 11: More Fuxin steam before we return to our hotel in Shenyang for a relaxed evening. DAY 12 SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 12: Flight to Urumqi in NW China, with a change of flights at Beijing where lunch will be scheduled. DAY 13 SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 13: Leisure time in early morning before catching train K544 departing at 9:53am for Hami through some very interesting desert and mountain terrain. Arrive Hami at 4:31pm , with time to relax and perhaps enjoy one of those famous Hami melons. This region is ethnically quite different from typical Han Chinese cities, and offers a change of pace. DAY 14 MONDAY SEPTEMBER 14: SANDAOLING Coal Mine Railway, about 45 minutes by highway from Hami. Coal trains move 10 miles to the busy China Rail mainline. The mainline is diesel operated, but soon to be electrified. Some may wish to spend a portion of their time watching the regular freight and passenger traffic roll by. In addition to the big open pit, there are a number of service and transfer facilites worthy of visit. Recent news is that there may be one or two diesels on the property or pending delivery, but there are usually over two dozen mostly JS-class 2-8-2s on duty. DAY 15 TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 15: We will have a 2nd full day along the Sandaoling Coal Mine Railway before we board train T266 at Hami at 9:14pm in soft class sleepers, for Lanzhou. DAY 16 WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 16: Great morning scenery through the Wei River Valley, where two main tracks zip over viaducts and through tunnels, then cross the Yellow River before arriving into Lanzhou at 11:38am. Following lunch, a two hour scenic bus ride on a new highway brings us to Baiyin. Two nights here, near the Copper Smelting Railway. Still 100% SY steam, plans for a new diesel appear to have been put on hold. There are two pairs of passenger trains operating on 2% grades, and you will want to ride one of these (fare is about 15 cents...). In 2007, and maybe still in 2009, a one car steam powered school shuttle service was in operation. This was once a much busier mine complex, but still keeps 4 or 5 locos busy on most days. DAY 17 THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 17: 2nd full day along the Copper Smelting Railway. DAY 18 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 18: Morning hours along the Copper Railway. In the afternoon we transfer back to Lanzhou; evening flight from Lanzhou return to Beijing, with night at the Sino-Swiss Hotel. DAY 19 SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 19: Flights for home. OPTIONAL ADD ON: Pingdingshan; Batou, and diesel trains over Jingpeng Pass. If interested Please ask for details.
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PRICES ARE PER PERSON Double room occupancy..................$2,998 Single room supplement.................$ 495 Deposit to hold space..................$ 400 Final payment due by June 30, 2009 |
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TOUR PRICE: All tour prices are corrected to November 1, 2010 and are subject to change without notice, at any time. All prices based on double room
occupancy. We reserve the right to change tour prices if necessary.
PRICES DO NOT INCLUDE: Personal items, meals not listed in the itinerary, laundry, phone calls, excess baggage charges, rental cars, side tours, insurance, passport fees including visas, vaccinations, gratuities, medical costs, tips to train or motor coach staff, extra tour costs due to unanticipated changes in the itinerary for reasons beyond our control, including weather, travel conditions, or cancellations, government intervention, sickness, political disputes, and failure of transportation or other causes beyond our control.
TRAVEL AND HEALTH DOCUMENTS: A valid passport is required for our international tours. In some cases a visa is also needed. Consult your
health professional for the recommended immunizations and documents. Trains and Travel International , here on referred to as TTI, assumes no other responsibility if a client is refused entry into a country. Cost and cancellation fees will be paid by the client in the event they do not have valid documents.
CHANGE OF ITINERARY: We reserve the right to substitute, alter or modify the tour if any unexpected and unforeseen conditions beyond our control
preventing the completion of such. Conditions can include weather, train schedules, equipment, motive power, revision of train consist, train delays, labor strikes, political disputes, derailments, closure of a rail line, break down of railroad or motive power equipment, railroads not honoring contracts and bus equipment problems. We will always endeavor, in each case, to provide substitutes, if any changes take place. TTI is not responsible for canceled trains,
delays, hotel rooms, route changes or missed connections, for any reason whatsoever. We will not give refunds if such conditions or cancellations take place.
TRAVEL INSURANCE: Travel Insurance is mandatory for all tours. This insurance will cover and give the tour members many benefits and protection. Benefits include baggage, accident, life, trip cancellation, sickness, bankruptcy, strike, weather conditions, employer termination or layoff effecting you or
a person sharing the room with you, terrorist incident in your departure city or city of destination, jury duty, you are subpoenaed, hijacked, or quarantined,
your residence or traveling companion residence is rendered uninhabitable, emergency military duty, traffic accident, single supplement upgrade when your traveling companion cancels their trip, trip interruption, trip delay, missed connections, itinerary change, emergency medical benefits, medical evacuation, baggage delay and loss, pre-existing medical conditions if enrollment is within 21 days of your invoice date, burglary of you or your companion before departure, felonious assault of you or your traveling companion before departure, 24 hour hotline emergency assistance, emergency cash transfer and more.
We will supply you with a travel insurance brochure with rates and application when we mail you the invoice after trip deposit is received. Travel insurance protects your vacation investments and is a very good investment for your travel and vacation money. US law allows us to offer this insurance to all persons
Worldwide. We will accept a "refusal of travel insurance wavier" if you do not wish to purchase any travel insurance. FOR CUBA: Because of the nature of these tours travel insurance is MANDATORY for everyone. We have a special American travel insurance company that will insure all folks going to Cuba on legal US approved tours. This insurance information will be sent to you upon receiving your booking.
RESPONSIBILITY AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY: Accepting your payment represents an agreement that you understand all the conditions, to
be a member of our tours. TTI gives notice that they are acting agents for the owners, contractors and suppliers, providing the transportation and all related travel services and assume no responsibility for injury, sickness, damage, loss, additional expenses accidental delay or irregularities which may be caused through willful or negligent acts or omissions on the part of the companies providing or engage in transportation, accommodations or services related to the accomplishment of the tour. Nor do we assume responsibility for natural disasters, social or political upheaval, acts of terrorism or acts of nature. TTI reserves
the right to substitute hotels, tour leaders, equipment, motive power, trains, onboard accommodations, routes and to alter the itinerary when deemed necessary without notice. The right is also reserved to cancel any trip or train prior to departure for any reason . TTI is not responsible for expenses incurred by tour members in preparing for the tour, including non-refundable airline tickets, visa fees, planning, phone calls, or any other expenses. TTI reserves the right to decline to accept, or ask to leave a tour, any person whose actions impede the daily operations of a tour, welfare or enjoyment of other tour members. TTI cannot give any refunds for any unused services. The terms contained herein shall serve as a waiver of liability to TTI. Assumption of risk on behalf of the client, their heirs, executor, administrators, successors, and assigns for any and all known persons injuries
RESERVATIONS: A deposit is due in our office within 14 days after you make your bookings. Full payment is due 90 days before departure. You will
receive an invoice, reservation form and current tour bulletins with your confirmation and travel insurance forms. No notice for final payment will be sent
to you. It is your responsible to make the final payment on-time.
CANCELLATIONS: TTI does not accept cancellations on the phone. Cancellations must be received by postal mail, email or fax before any refunds will be considered. Allow enough time if sending your written notice by US mail postal system. When a written cancellation is received in the Trains and Travel
office this will be the effective date of the cancellation. Please take note that it can take up to 60 days to to process some refunds. Cancellation refund rules:
100 days prior to the start of any tour you will receive a full refund less a $100 per person administration fee. 99 to 61 days before the departure of any tour
there will be a 80% cancellation penalty based on the full cost of the tour. Cancellations received 60 or less days before the start of any tour will not receive
any refund. GW Travel Ltd has their own cancellation rules and these will apply. If booking on GW Travel Ltd ask for cancellation rules.
PRE-DEPARTURE TOUR BULLETINS: Tour bulletins will be sent to clients that have booked on tours operated by TTI. Bulletins include travel info related to the tour. Final documents will be sent out about two to three weeks before a tour begins. We offer tours operated by other companies and they may
or may not send out tour bulletins and updates and most send out final documents only one to two weeks prior to the start of their tours.
PAYMENTS: Payments can be made with personal check drawn on a U.S. Dollar account, money order for U.S. Dollars, bank wire transfer, or credit card.
We accept Visa, Master Card, Discover or American Express. Final payment for all tours is due 90 days prior to departure. If final payment has not been received 7 days after the due date, a late fee of $50 per week will apply.
SINGLE SUPPLEMENT: All prices are based on double room occupancy. We will try and match you with a roommate if one is available. If not, you may
be charged the single room supplement listed for the tour you are booked on. Single rooms may not be available in some remote locations and on some trains.
TOUR REFUNDS: If for any reason tour members amend or delete any arrangements during travel, and leave the tour on their own, we cannot give any refunds on unused portions of the tour. If buses and trains are cancelled by the carrier or there is a labor strike or they go out of business, we cannot be held
responsible and we cannot give refunds. Travel insurance will protect you for any of these reasons. If TTI needs to cancel any tour everyone will receive a
full refund. Please take note that in some cases refunds can take up to 60 days to process.
PARTIAL TOURS: We will allow passengers to join or leave a tour at certain points. It will all depend on the tour and the conditions. Give us a call and
we will try and work up a custom option for you.
MILEAGE COLLECTORS: Mileage collectors please take note that TTI does not cater just to mileage collectors. We cater to all folks that enjoy trains and
Rail journeys. We give strong warning that itinerary and route changes do happen and this is totally beyond our control when it does. If the only reason that
you would want to book a tour is to collect the rare mileage, you need to understand that possible route changes do happen.
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