Railroad depot at Durbin, West Virginia, USA · James St. John · CC BY 2.0 · cropped
Mountain Rail WV has posted a $10 fall increase on Greenbrier Express tickets that started September 16, 2026, and the operator now lists adult fares at $85 from Cass, West Virginia, before taxes and fees. The steam excursion still leaves at 10:00 a.m. for a 5.5-hour round trip along the Greenbrier River to Durbin, with a cold-cut lunch included, and it does not run every day.
If you are trying to lock a foliage weekend, check the live booking calendar before you drive to 12363 Cass Road, because empty seats are not guaranteed in October. Pair the ticket with a broader West Virginia itinerary that already includes Cass, Durbin, or Monongahela National Forest, then buy the date you can actually use. The current adult, senior, military, and child prices are on the Greenbrier Express operator page.
- Fall rate start: September 16, 2026, with a $10 increase.
- Adult fare listed: $85 ages 12 to 64, taxes and fees extra.
- Boarding: 12363 Cass Road, Cass, WV 24927, 10:00 a.m.
- Trip: 5.5 hours Cass to Durbin and back, lunch included.
- Season: May to October, not daily; book the calendar.
Fall Rates Started September 16
The fare block on the operator site is explicit: fall rates, described as a $10 increase, started September 16, 2026. The same page currently lists adult tickets at $85, seniors 65 and older at $83, military and veteran tickets at $81 with a valid ID, children ages 4 to 11 at $65, and infants 3 and under as free if you still issue a ticket. Taxes and fees are not included, and the operator says rates, times, and dates can change.
That $85 figure is the number on the public ticket page today. An independent fall-foliage roundup published August 3, 2026, on American-Rails.com also framed Mountain Rail adult prices as starting around $85 with a mid-September surcharge. Travel + Leisure, writing on September 19, 2026, separately cited $95 for a standard October 2026 adult ticket. Treat the operator page as the number you pay at checkout, and treat the October $95 cite as a second report, not a second official fare table.
Fall pricing applies to every Greenbrier Express departure from mid-September onward on the operator’s own rate note. If you already held a ticket bought before September 16, the page does not say those seats were repriced. New bookings after that date are the ones that carry the increase.
Cass to Durbin in 5.5 Hours
The train departs the restored lumber town of Cass and follows the Greenbrier River 15 miles north to Durbin. The operator times the round trip at 5.5 hours, with a 10:00 a.m. departure. Travel + Leisure reports a return to Cass by about 3:30 p.m.
The line is the northern remnant of a 95-mile Chesapeake and Ohio timber railroad built in 1902, later abandoned, then rebuilt after a 1985 flood through a West Virginia State Rail Authority partnership with Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad.
Lunch is part of the ticket, but it is not a seated dining car service. The operator says each guest is served a standard cold-cut lunch cafeteria-style at a designated venue in Durbin, and you must get off the train to eat it. The box is a sandwich you assemble, chips, a cookie, and water. The page also says the lunch location can be the train car, the depot, or a Main Street restaurant next to the depot, so follow staff directions on the day rather than assuming a single restaurant.
Durbin is a short layover, not an overnight stop unless you book lodging yourself. The operator points visitors to the Rail and Trail store, Simply Sweet Cafe, and Station 2 Restaurant and Motel. Those are local businesses named on the excursion page. Confirm hours on their own sites if a store or cafe stop is the reason you chose that date.
Fares, Seats, and the Booking Calendar
The Greenbrier Express does not run daily. The operator tells you to use the booking calendar for operating dates and says advanced online reservations are the way to guarantee a seat. Coach Car 3607 and Coach Car 202 use traditional four-top tables. Coach Car 835 is bus-style, two seats together on each side of an aisle, all facing forward. Only car 3607 has a restroom. Passengers in 835 and 202 can walk to the restroom in 3607.
Pick the car type when you book, not at the platform. Table seating is the closer match if you want to eat or spread a map. Bus-style seating is the closer match if you want a forward view. Neither layout changes the 10:00 a.m. departure or the Durbin lunch stop.
Keep the calendar honest: May to October is the published season for this product. Do not assume a random Tuesday in late September is a running day. If the calendar shows a date, that is the date you can buy. If it does not, there is no hidden standby list on the operator page.
Access Limits at Cass
The Greenbrier Express is not wheelchair accessible. The operator cites the historical train cars, notes multiple steps to board, and says handrails are present. That is a hard planning fact, not a soft suggestion. If anyone in your group cannot climb those steps, this is the wrong ticket, even if fall color is the reason you opened the page.
Pets are not allowed on any Mountain Rail excursions. Service animals required because of a disability are allowed. Restrooms are onboard, but only in car 3607. If that walk through adjacent cars is a problem, choose 3607 at checkout.
The boarding address is 12363 Cass Road, Cass, WV 24927. Cass Scenic Railroad State Park is the better-known neighbor in the same town. The Greenbrier Express is a separate Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad product that the operator describes as a different option for visitors already coming to Cass. Do not mix the two tickets. Bald Knob and Whittaker Station climbs are different products with different durations and prices.
Cancellation Windows and October Color
Cancel 48 hours or more before departure and the operator will issue a 90 percent monetary refund. Booking fees are not refundable. Cancel inside 48 hours and there is no cash refund, but you may reschedule to another date in the current season. Gift cards can be issued for the full ticket amount minus booking fees and do not expire. Credit-card buyers can self-cancel through the “View Online” link in the confirmation email. Gift-card buyers must call Mountain Rail WV at 304-636-9477.
October is the last full month on the published May-to-October calendar, which is why the September 16 increase lands now rather than in July. If your only free weekend is in October, buy that weekend while the calendar still shows seats. If you can travel in late September, you are already inside the fall-rate window, so waiting does not restore the pre-September 16 price.
| If you… | What to do |
|---|---|
| Can travel late September | Book a calendar date now. Fall rates already apply, and waiting does not restore the old price. |
| Need an October foliage Saturday | Buy the exact date on the operator calendar. October is the last month of the published season. |
| Need wheelchair access | Do not book this train. The operator says it is not wheelchair accessible. |
| Are traveling with a child 3 or under | Issue the free infant ticket anyway. The operator requires a ticket even when the fare is $0. |
September 16, 2026 is the fall-rate gate. New Greenbrier Express bookings after that date carry the $10 increase. The operator lists adult tickets at $85 before taxes and fees.
The booking calendar is the operating schedule. The train does not run daily. If a date is missing, it is not a running day.
October is the last published month. A 5.5-hour Cass-to-Durbin seat is a same-day plan, not a drop-in at the depot.
When did Greenbrier Express fall rates start?
Mountain Rail WV says the $10 fall increase started September 16, 2026, and applies to departures from mid-September onward.
How much is a Greenbrier Express adult ticket from Cass?
The operator currently lists $85 for ages 12 to 64 before taxes and fees. Travel + Leisure cited $95 for October 2026 adult tickets, so confirm the live checkout price.
Where does the Greenbrier Express board?
Boarding is at 12363 Cass Road, Cass, WV 24927, with a 10:00 a.m. departure on days the calendar shows the train running.
Is the Greenbrier Express wheelchair accessible?
No. The operator says the historical cars are not wheelchair accessible and that boarding requires multiple steps, with handrails provided.
Does a Greenbrier Express ticket include lunch?
Yes. Each ticket includes a standard cold-cut lunch served cafeteria-style in Durbin. You have to get off the train to collect it.
Does the Greenbrier Express run every day?
No. It runs on selected dates from May to October. Use the operator booking calendar. Empty seats are not guaranteed in October.
