RAILTRACK staff were plunged into further uncertainty today as rumours about their company's departure from York intensified.

The Evening Press revealed last month that jobs may be lost in York as two zones of the company are being merged, with the headquarters possibly shifting from the city.

Bosses at the beleaguered company have held briefings in both York and London to keep staff at the London North Eastern and East Anglia zones informed of progress on the merger - due to be in place by the end of the year.

But staff in East Anglia are believed to have told colleagues in the North that they were told the "headquarters will not be in York".

At a meeting at the Railway Institute in York on Friday between staff, union officials and York MP Hugh Bayley there was much talk of redundancies.

"There is a lot of uncertainty here," one female worker told the Evening Press.

"People are fearful for the future. We don't know yet exactly what is going on but we have heard that the East Anglia Zone staff have been told that York will not be the headquarters.

"Peterborough, apparently, is to be the new headquarters."

Staff fear that if the company was to relocate, some workers would move to Jarvis, Corus Rail or other railway employers housed in the city.

But Mr Bayley is hopeful that the presence of the other rail companies will be enough to encourage Railtrack to stay.

About 500 staff are employed in York, the majority being clerical or management staff.

A spokesman for Railtrack said that at this stage no decision had been made on redundancies and no decision had been on the location of the headquarters.

Updated: 11:07 Monday, September 24, 2001