track along of the Harlem Line between Mount Vernon West and Crestwood to increase capacity and to eliminate a bottleneck. At the time, Harlem Line ridership was growing, with an expected 31 million people using the line in 2020. Without the construction of an additional track, only one southbound peak-hour train could have been added without cutting local service, express service or reverse peak service. In August 2001, construction on the $57 million project began. The project was completed in 2004. The Fleetwood and Crestwood stations were expanded through the adding of island platforms to allow for the third track to stop there. The right-of-way was wide enough to fit the third track, requiring no taking of property. The plan for the installation of a third track was first conceived in 1989, but it was faced with strong community opposition due to concerns over noise and vibrations. Once opened, the third track resulted in improved service. Reverse-peak trains were able to run every 30 minutes instead of every 90 minutes, helping fuel a 30 percent increase in ridership along the line through Southern Westchester and the Bronx. Most of the new reverse-peak users came from the Bronx. The increased service helped revitalize White Plains' downtown, helping anchor the economy of central Westchester. Express trains could skip stops via the express track while additional local trains could make stops in Westchester and the Bronx. Purchase by the MTA On November 13, 2018, the MTA announced its intent to purchase the Hudson and Harlem Lines as well as the Grand Central Terminal for up to $35.065 million, plus a discount rate of 6.25%. The purchase would include all inventory, operations, improvements, and maintenance associated with each asset, except for the air rights over Grand Central. At the time, the Hudson and Harlem Lines were owned by a holding company that had taken possession of Penn Central's assets upon its bankruptcy, while the Grand Central Terminal was owned by Midtown TDR Ventures. Under the terms of the leases for each asset, the MTA would only be able to exercise an option to purchase the three assets before October 2019. The MTA's finance committee approved the proposed purchase on November 13, 2018, and the purchase was approved by the full board two days later. The deal finally closed in March 2020, with the MTA taking ownership of the terminal and rail lines. Following this