Germany’s state-owned rail company Deutsche Bahn (DB) is blaming strikes, construction work and storms for a poor punctuality record in the first half of this year, with just 62.7% of long-distance trains arriving without major delay. “The massive strikes, country-wide construction work and in particular extreme weather to an unprecedented extent in the first half-year have depressed the figure,” DB said in Berlin on Thursday. The figure was six percentage points down on the same period last year. The situation in June was particularly difficult, with flooding, damage to embankments and landsl…