The slow trains (Regionalbahn) tend to be on time. The "quick" trains are late. Maybe Germans just tired of the "trains on time" thing that outsiders say about them. Also, privatization. In the UK they seem to have regrets about Thatcher-era privatizations.

Seem to have? I live in the UK and it's pretty much a truth, universally acknowledged, that rail privatisation was an unmitigated disaster. We have some of the highest fares and worst services anywhere. Profit over performance. The new Government is looking at renationalising the network.