Soon after construction on the Taipei-Keelung line began, work was initiated on a second line. This new line stretched a total of 78 km, from Taipei to Taoyuan, Chungli, and Hsinchu.
北基鐵路開工後不久，劉銘傳又繼續修築自台北南行，經桃園、中壢，抵達新竹的路線，共長七十八公里。