Deutsche Bahn has indicated it will begin a scheduled freight service linking China with Germany in three months, according to an article by Forbes.

The route, first pilot-tested earlier this year, would allow container movement by land from the world's biggest manufacturing nation to western Europe. It would slice 20 days of transit time off the typical ocean service between China and northern Europe, and would be a cost-effective alternative to air cargo, which can take one to three days.

The roughly 6,000-mile trip between Beijing and Berlin takes 15 days.

The cargo trains can't compete with sea freight, but for express goods or oversize volumes they do make sense, Norbert Bensel, head of Deutsche Bahn's logistic operations, told the magazine.

DB owns an 8 percent stake in China United International Railway Container Transport, the Chinese rail operator it is partnering with on the intercontinental route.