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Detractors of the Réseau express métropolitain predict it will be the death knell of the Mascouche commuter rail line.

That’s because the new automated light métro network, known as the REM, will cut off the Mascouche commuter train’s direct route to downtown Central Station.

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Decades of transit planning have shown that adding one transfer to a direct transit route results in about a 10-per-cent loss of ridership, said Pierre Barrieau, a transportation consultant and lecturer with Université de Montréal’s urban planning school.

The Mascouche line, which is run by the regional public transit authority Exo, was introduced in 2014 to provide direct service between the North Shore municipality and downtown Central Station, with stops in between in the east end of Montreal Island.

The rail line cost taxpayers about $700 million.

“The problem with the Mascouche line no longer going downtown is you just got rid of one of its major selling points,” Barrieau said, noting that a 10-per-cent loss may be an underestimate here.