The Most Punctual Nation in the World?

I had always thought that Germany was possibly the world’s most punctual country; however, my experience in Frankfurt had reversed my opinion on this issue. I visited Frankfurt for a trade fair in late October 2018. Since the ID badge they gave to the exhibitors was also a boarding pass for the railway, I decided to seize my spare time to explore the city as a bonus for my business trip. It was a great adventure in this one of the most significant business cities in Europe, but my good mood soon got busted by the delays of DB. When I finished my shopping and was on my way back to the hotel, the platform was crowded with dozens of people. I realized immediately that the train delayed. At that moment, I didn’t take it seriously but waited for an hour for the next train to come. However, things got worse during the following days. Every time I took the train, it either stopped before my station, or there was another lengthy delay for me to wait. The train was never on time during my stay in Frankfurt. By the way, when I searched through the internet, I found out that DB actually got a bad name for regularly not arriving on time. What a surprise for me! Since then, to me, the imagination of punctuality in Germany was no real than an urban legend — at least it’s not for the DB.