The Basle-based SCB had acquired licenses to build and operate railways in Aarau, Lucerne, Bern and Biel and controlled the rail traffic in the Central Plateau.

The BSB completed the projects in the canton of Bern that construction had commenced on in 1864. the Swiss Northeastern Railway (Schweizerische Nordostbahn, NOB) took over the planning and concession for the Zurich–Zug–Lucerne line from the OWB's bankrupt estate.

The Zurich-based NOB created a subsidiary called the Zürich-Zug-Lucerne railway (ZZL) and, after minor revisions of the project, began building the line.

The same architect was responsible for the design of Zug station which was located on today's Bundesplatz and had a track triangle for turning trains.

The approach to Lucerne changed again to join at the new Fluhmühle yard in August 1875, when the line of the Bern-Lucerne Railway (Bern-Luzern-Bahn, BLB) from Langnau im Emmental was opened along with a new entrance to the station by the 317 metre-long Gibraltar tunnel.

The SCB and NOB established the Aargau Southern Railway (Aargauische Südbahn, ASB) to build an access route; this reached Rotkreuz station on the ZZL from Muri on 1 December 1881.

On 1 November 1896, the SCB again changed the approach to Lucerne as part of the construction of the second Lucerne station; the platform area of the station was turned around 90 degrees to face south and the approach was rebuilt to run through two new tunnels, called Schönheim and Gütsch, allowing the removal of all level crossings in the city.

The nationalisation of the NOB took place formally on 1 January 1902; this included the transfer of the line of the former ZZL to the ownership of the SBB.

With the introduction of the Zurich S-Bahn, the line has been somewhat revived and some improvements have been made as a result of increasing passenger traffic.