Abstract: The effect of train running on subgrade consists of vibration loading and intermittent loading. Conventional studies mostly focus on the effect of vibration loading, while ignore the strength and deformation recovery characteristics of soil in intermittent periods. The dynamic triaxial tests with different effective confining pressures, freeze-thaw cycle numbers, dynamic stress amplitudes and vibration frequencies were conducted to investigate the deformation characteristics of subgrade aeolian soil under intermittent cyclic load using the GDS DYNTTS. The deformation law of the freeze-thaw aeolian soil and its influencing factors under intermittent cyclic load were also analyzed. The results show that the cumulative plastic strain curves of aeolian soil include three types, e.g., stable type, developmental type and destructive type, under intermittent cyclic load. The strain accumulation of soil is largely weakened by the intermittent cyclic load, which results in a reduced deformation under continuous load. The dynamic stress amplitude is determined, by means of the extreme difference analysis method, as the most important influencing factor to the cumulative plastic strain. The effective consolidation confining pressure is the second, the freeze-thaw number is the third and the last one is the vibration frequency. The fractional-order mathematical model of the cumulative plastic strain under the intermittent cyclic load was established by using two Abel dashpot. The results are compared with the experimental results showing the model calculation results are in good agreement with the test results, which indicates that the mathematical model of fractional-order cumulative plastic strain can reasonably predict the long-term deformation characteristics of aeolian soil under the intermittent cyclic load. The research results can provide scientific basis for roadbed engineering design and disaster prevention in seasonal frozen soil area.