At Brugg it connects to Zürich via Baden and to the Gotthard Railway via the Aargauische Südbahn.

The Aargau canton government proposed a continuation of the line via Brugg and the Bözberg Pass to Basel.

[citation needed] Construction of an alternative route, known as the Bötzbergbahn (BöB) began in 1870 and it was opened on 2 August 1875 through the Bözberg Pass from Pratteln to Brugg via the Frick valley and the 2,526-metre-long Bözberg Tunnel by a joint venture of the Centralbahn and the Nordostbahn.

[3] No further double-tracking occurred before the Bözbergbahn was incorporated in the Swiss Federal Railways on 1 January 1902.

Congestion on this section was relieved by the opening of Adler Tunnel in 2003 between Liestal and Muttenz, which is now used by fast passenger trains.

The Swiss Federal Office of Transport has granted a permit for the construction of a replacement for the Bözberg railway tunnel.