Planning to hit Oktoberfest this year? A rather quirky means of making your way down there would be to take the Oktoberfest-Partyzug, or party train.

German Rail’s party trains allow you to get the party started before you even reach your destination. It offers a wagon with a disco, a DJ and presumably many happy and -- do you think? -- tipsy German co-passengers. These “Sonderzuge,” or special trains, are laid on in addition to regularly scheduled trains throughout the year to whisk the partying masses not only to Oktoberfest but to events such as the Dürkheimer Wurstmarkt, The Rhine in Flames and various fests and dances all over the land.

En route to the Oktoberfest on Sept. 29, there’s a train traversing a route that starts in Dortmund and hits the communities of Mainz, Frankfurt, Hanau, Aschaffenburg and Würzburg along the way. The published fares are 54 euros (from Mainz) and 51 euros (from the other cities noted).

On Oct. 6, another Oktoberfest-bound party train originates in Saarbrücken and pauses to pick up fest-goers in Homburg, Landstuhl and Kaiserslautern. The cost of tickets along this route is 69 euros each.

According to a brochure for “Der Schöne Tag,” these trains are scheduled to arrive in Munich some time around 1 p.m. and depart that same day at approximately 7:30 p.m. The costs include seat reservations, so if you’re all partied out on the return route, you won’t be forced to stake out a space to crash in the corridor or luggage rack. Sounds like an exhausting but potentially quite fun day out. If you’re considering this, get to a DB ticket agent, quickly - they stop taking reservations about three weeks prior to the event. And if you can’t make the Oktoberfest run, just remember the Party train next time a major event is coming to town.