However difficulties in financing the proposal, and the substantial engineering works that would be required alongside the lake, led to a revised plan which was eventually implemented.

[1][2] The outbreak of World War I lead to a considerable loss of traffic and consequent financial problems, and the SNF decided to sell its railways and concentrate on operating its steamboat services on Lake Lugano.

After the sale, the SNF changed its name to the Società Navigazione del Lago di Lugano (SNL).

Plans to electrify it never came to fruition, and the SVIE arranged for the creation of a separate company (the Società Anonima Prealpina di Trasporto or SPT) which was jointly owned by the SVIE, Ferrovie Nord Milano and the Commercial Bank of Milan.

[3] Traffic continued to decline, and road improvements meant that bus services could offer faster and cheaper journeys than the train.