corridors, where the contracted firm would be responsible for vehicle procurement and operation and maintenance of those lines, and entered a contract with Washington Group International (WGI); METRO/WGI issued a request for proposals for 103 firm new vehicles and an option of up to 75 additional vehicles on August 31, 2007. Although the FTA reminded METRO about federal procurement rules on multiple occasions, METRO told prospective bidders that Buy America rules did not apply (presumably because the RFP was issued by the private contractor) and awarded a contract to CAF on March 4, 2009. Later that month, METRO requested a Buy America waiver for two pilot vehicles which would be assembled by CAF in Spain; the FTA denied the waiver request, stating that CAF had signed a certificate of compliance with Buy America requirements. METRO proceeded to use local funds to pursue the pilot vehicle procurement, and the FTA opened an investigation in April 2010. Ultimately, the CAF contract was canceled and of the million contract was refunded to METRO. The North/Red Line extension opened on December 21, 2013 (ahead of its projected early 2014 opening), increasing the line to its current total of and 24 stations. Central Station was added to the Red Line to provide transfers to/from the Purple and Green lines. After numerous delays, all but two stations on the eastern end of the Green Line opened on May 23, 2015, while Cesar Chavez/67th Street and Magnolia Park entered service on January 11, 2017 after the construction of an overpass. Both the Purple and Green lines, together costing $1.3 billion, share a track segment in downtown, then run east and diverge. Cancellations and BRT conversions Plans for the Inner Katy rail line (east of Loop 610) under the METRO Solutions Plan (2003) conflicted with existing plans to widen the Katy Freeway west of Loop 610 to Texas State Highway 6. A Major Investment Study for the Katy Freeway Expansion was started in 1994 and approved in October 1997; the draft and final environmental impact statements were completed by August 30, 2002. In preparation, TxDOT purchased a portion of the right-of-way for the old Katy Railroad from Union Pacific (UP) in 1992 for $78 million, and the UP was scheduled to begin track removal in the last half of 1997. In all, of track were removed from Katy/Fort Bend Road in Brookshire to Canal Street in Houston. The