York’s former carriageworks site is on the market for almost £11 million. In a city with such a proud rail tradition, that will immediately cause alarm bells to sound. It needn’t necessarily be bad news, however.

Network Rail and other firms which occupy offices on the site pay rent totalling more than £1 million a year. That represents a healthy return on investment for any potential buyer. And King Sturge, the national property company marketing the site, is stressing the potential to increase that still further by letting empty offices.

There is no reason, therefore, that sale of the site should affect the firms based there, or the jobs of the people who work for them.

There is a further complication, however. Network Rail uses the main carriageworks building to service rail maintenance vehicles. But its lease runs out in 2010.

York MP Hugh Bayley has already expressed his concern, saying it is vital the site’s rail connection continues.

We second that. The carriageworks employed 4,000 workers in the days when it was operated by BREL. First ABB, then Thrall, later carried on the rail tradition there.

Network Rail now employs about 30 full-time workers on the site, though that rises at peak work periods to about 100.

Those are small numbers in comparison to the glory days of rail manufacturing in York.

But it would be a tragedy if one of York’s final connections to the rail industry were to be severed.