By Yepoka Yeebo
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Long Island Rail Road service between Jamaica Station and Penn Station will be severely disrupted this weekend and Marathon weekend due to necessary signal repair work.
Service to Manhattan will be so bad, the LIRR is effectively telling weekend daytrippers from Long Island, "don't bother."
The LIRR recommends using trains "for essential business travel only," according to a statement. Everyone else will have to use patchwork of buses that arrive once an hour, and the "E" subway line, which runs between Jamaica Station and Penn Station, adding 70 minutes to every weekend commute.
The changes are also expected to affect the thousands of fans who come into the city for the Marathon weekend on Nov. 6 and 7, and the MTA has set up a special timetable on the E train to deal with the crowds on Marathon day.
The disruptions are the final stage of a $56 million overhaul that will replace World War One-era mechanical switches, which made August's massive fire worse, with a computerized system.
The LIRR will finally be putting in a new signal system at Jamaica Station, limiting service down to one track each way, cutting service to three trains an hour, instead of up to nine.
The modern system will replace the three signal towers at Jamaica station, including the Hall Tower damaged by the major fire in August.
But this wasn't a big consideration for commuters, who took to Twitter to air their grievances.
"If you are planning to use the LIRR this weekend, you better not," tweeted user Mike LaChapelle. "Major work happening this weekend in Jamaica."
For regularly updated information on service cuts, visit the MTA website or the LIRR Twitter feed.
