For 40 years, the ownership structure of the two lines remained unchanged, with LSE owned trains running over SBB owned tracks between Hergiswil and Lucerne. However, in June 2004, the Swiss Federal Council empowered the SBB to transfer the Brünig line to the LSE with effect from January 2005. In return the LSE issued shares to the SBB, and as a result 2/3 of its shares are now owned by SBB. The LSE was subsequently renamed the Zentralbahn to reflect its much larger scale of operation.