The opening of the Gotthard Railway gave the SCB a strong boost from 1882 onwards.
Both passenger and freight traffic increased strongly and permanently.
The SCB received half the profits of the highly profitable Bötzberg Railway.
Also, the initially loss-making Southern Railway produced abundant profits from 1882, half of which were paid to the SCB.
As early as 1873, SCB was again able to pay dividends to shareholders, which reached nine or more percent of the capital value of shares between 1898 and 1900.
These high payments to shareholders shortly before the nationalisation did not meet with approval everywhere.

The railway crisis caused many domestic shareholders to sell their shares to domestic and foreign banks.
The railway shares played an important role in speculation on the stock market.
The new majority of foreign shareholders considered short-term profit maximisation to be the main priority of the company.
In 1887 and 1896, the management was replaced by a president who was more comfortable with the banks.

On 30 May 1898, a group of track workers employed by the Swiss Central Railway was run over by a passenger train of the Northeastern Railway at the southern exit from the Gütsch tunnel near Lucerne.
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.

In 1891, a banking consortium offered the federal government the majority of shares in SCB.
The policy would have had a great impact on the SCB.
However, a referendum was called to prevent the purchase because of its high cost and it was rejected by the voters.
The nationalisation of SCB was only decided in 1898 with the adoption of the repurchase law.
The Central Railway became the property of the Confederation in 1902 and became part of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB).
The opening of the Gotthard Railway gave the SCB a strong boost from 1882 onwards. Both passenger and freight traffic increased strongly and permanently. The SCB received half the profits of the highly profitable Bötzberg Railway. Also, the initially loss-making Southern Railway produced abundant profits from 1882, half of which were paid to the SCB. As early as 1873, SCB was again able to pay dividends to shareholders, which reached nine or more percent of the capital value of shares between 1898 and 1900. These high payments to shareholders shortly before the nationalisation did not meet with approval everywhere.
The railway crisis caused many domestic shareholders to sell their shares to domestic and foreign banks. The railway shares played an important role in speculation on the stock market. The new majority of foreign shareholders considered short-term profit maximisation to be the main priority of the company. In 1887 and 1896, the management was replaced by a president who was more comfortable with the banks.
On 30 May 1898, a group of track workers employed by the Swiss Central Railway was run over by a passenger train of the Northeastern Railway at the southern exit from the Gütsch tunnel near Lucerne. 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.
In 1891, a banking consortium offered the federal government the majority of shares in SCB. The policy would have had a great impact on the SCB. However, a referendum was called to prevent the purchase because of its high cost and it was rejected by the voters. The nationalisation of SCB was only decided in 1898 with the adoption of the repurchase law. The Central Railway became the property of the Confederation in 1902 and became part of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB).
Swiss Central Railway