When the Metroliner high-speed program had begun two years earlier, the state had attempted to capitalize on the opportunity to purchase upgraded rolling stock for the 600-series trains. On August 30, 1966, Governor William Scranton of Pennsylvania announced plans to purchase 11 Metroliners for service to replace the Silverliners then used. The cars were ordered through Philadelphia commuter agency SEPTA, as the state was not permitted to contract directly with the PRR. The state, SEPTA, and PRR reached an agreement on November 3rd; the state and SEPTA would each pay $2 million, funded mostly by mass transit grants from the newly formed Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the PRR would receive a free 15-year lease of the cars. The PRR soon withdrew after complaints from competing Red Arrow Lines and Capitol Trailways, and the HUD grants were later found not to be applicable to intercity service.