The situation of the NOB slowly improved again after 1880.
Increasing traffic led to the extension of stations and the procurement of additional rolling stock.
After Alfred Escher's death in 1882, Adolf Guyer-Zeller became head of the NOB.

The railway crisis had caused many domestic shareholders to sell their securities to major foreign shareholders.
Railway shares played a major role in speculation on the stock exchange.
A financial group led by Adolf Guyer was able to secure a majority of votes at a general meeting of the company, allowing it to select the board of directors and replace it with people who would cooperate with its interests.

The vast majority of the shares were in foreign hands, the majority of the bonds belonged to Swiss owners.
At the time, the interest rate was 4% for secure Swiss rail bonds.
In order to increase the return of the shares, bonds were converted into shares with an interest rate of 3½%.
This reduced the company's interest burden and increased profits.

On 8 January 1885, a Winterthur–Zürich train ran into a train coming from Wettingen after passing a stop signal.
The train from Wettingen was pushed back from Seebach over the junction on the open track towards Zurich.
The accident caused seven casualties and major property damage.
An NOB passenger train hit a group of Central Railway
workers, which had been busy with track work, at the southern exit from Gütsch tunnel near Lucerne on 30 May 1898.
Seven railway workers were killed immediately and four seriously injured.
On 4 June 1899, the Zurich–Geneva night express of the NOB ran past a designated stopping point in Aarau and ran into two stationary Central Railway locomotives.
The accident caused two deaths and three serious injuries.

Labour regulations and the wage demands of railway workers, which the other private railways acceded to in 1896, met with resistance from the profit-oriented NOB.
This led to a labour dispute with NOB staff in 1897.
In Zurich, masses of passengers wrote in the complaints book.
At times, milk was scarce.
The 5000 employees were able to enforce their claims after 41 hours of strikes.
The industrial action at the NOB contributed to the holding of a referendum in 1898, which approved the nationalisation of the largest private railways.

The NOB with a route network of 853 km and the Swiss Lake Constance fleet passed into the possession of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) on 1 January 1902.
The situation of the NOB slowly improved again after 1880. Increasing traffic led to the extension of stations and the procurement of additional rolling stock. After Alfred Escher's death in 1882, Adolf Guyer-Zeller became head of the NOB.
The railway crisis had caused many domestic shareholders to sell their securities to major foreign shareholders. Railway shares played a major role in speculation on the stock exchange. A financial group led by Adolf Guyer was able to secure a majority of votes at a general meeting of the company, allowing it to select the board of directors and replace it with people who would cooperate with its interests.
The vast majority of the shares were in foreign hands, the majority of the bonds belonged to Swiss owners. At the time, the interest rate was 4% for secure Swiss rail bonds. In order to increase the return of the shares, bonds were converted into shares with an interest rate of 3½%. This reduced the company's interest burden and increased profits.
On 8 January 1885, a Winterthur–Zürich train ran into a train coming from Wettingen after passing a stop signal. The train from Wettingen was pushed back from Seebach over the junction on the open track towards Zurich. The accident caused seven casualties and major property damage. An NOB passenger train hit a group of Central Railway
workers, which had been busy with track work, at the southern exit from Gütsch tunnel near Lucerne on 30 May 1898. Seven railway workers were killed immediately and four seriously injured. On 4 June 1899, the Zurich–Geneva night express of the NOB ran past a designated stopping point in Aarau and ran into two stationary Central Railway locomotives. The accident caused two deaths and three serious injuries.
Labour regulations and the wage demands of railway workers, which the other private railways acceded to in 1896, met with resistance from the profit-oriented NOB. This led to a labour dispute with NOB staff in 1897. In Zurich, masses of passengers wrote in the complaints book. At times, milk was scarce. The 5000 employees were able to enforce their claims after 41 hours of strikes. The industrial action at the NOB contributed to the holding of a referendum in 1898, which approved the nationalisation of the largest private railways.
The NOB with a route network of 853 km and the Swiss Lake Constance fleet passed into the possession of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) on 1 January 1902.
Swiss Northeastern Railway