The first SkyTrain faregate was installed Monday at Marine Drive Station in Vancouver.
Faregates are part of the overall strategy to reduce fare evasion and increase security on Metro Vancouver's transit system.
Wai Young, Member of Parliament for Vancouver-South, B.C. Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Blair Lekstrom, and TransLink Chief Operating Officer Doug Kelsey were on hand at Marine Drive Station to commemorate the project milestone.
"The new faregates will make SkyTrain service safer and more secure for commuters," said Young.
Lekstrom said Metro Vancouver has a world-class transit system and governments at all levels are working together to make the system even better.
"Faregates will modernize the regional transit system by making transit easier and safer for everyone," he said.
Faregates will be installed at all Canada, Expo and Millennium line stations and SeaBus terminals. Following a testing period, customers will begin transitioning to the faregates system in late spring 2013 with the system in service by fall 2013. All Evergreen Line stations will have faregates when the line opens in summer 2016.
The B.C. government is providing $40 million for the project and the federal government is contributing $30 million from the Building Canada Fund for the up to $100 million costs of faregate equipment and station improvements. TransLink is responsible for the remaining cost.
"We're bringing a new convenience for customers, while helping to ensure every customer is paying their fare and feels safe on the system," said Kelsey. "We are grateful to our partners in the federal and provincial governments for providing the funding to do the job."