CAR company Nissan could benefit from moves to reopen a mothballed North-East railway line.

The company, which has a factory in Sunderland, has expressed an interest in making use of the 21-mile Leamside line, which links Ferryhill, in County Durham, with Pelaw, Gateshead.

Meanwhile, Network Rail (NR) last night hinted it could help fund efforts to re-instate the line should a suitable business case be prepared for new services.

It has said it will join a feasibility study being carried out by Nexus, the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive, which is looking at the possibility of the route reopening.

Network Rail, which is responsible for Britain's railway infrastructure, previously caused consternation when it announced it was stripping large sections of track from the line.

Last night, an NR spokeswoman said: "Leamside will require substantial investment, but we are more than happy to discuss how we could fund it.

"We have discretionary investment funds that are available and we could look at whether those could be used.

"We have made a step forward, but it is a long process."

A Nissan spokeswoman said: "The line runs close to the car compound at the plant where vehicles are stored.

"Reopening the line in the future would present us with a possible alternative when it comes to transporting vehicles to and from the Port of Tyne."

Nexus wants to demonstrate the feasibility of reopening the Leamside line and its possible benefits.

Suggested uses for the route include:

* Improved connections between Teesside, Durham and Tyneside with the introduction of express train services calling at Middlesbrough, Thornaby, Durham (Belmont), Washington, Gateshead and Newcastle;

* A freight line to be used by the likes of the Port of Tyne, which wants to increase the amount of coal it imports for use by UK power stations;

* A relief line which would ease pressure on the congested East Coast Main Line in the North-East, to which it already links

Huw Lewis, a spokesman for Nexus, said: "This feasibility study was instigated by us, as we want to look at all the potential uses for the line.

"Our remit includes the key commuter corridors up to 20 miles outside of our area.

"The line does need an overhaul and it is down to Network Rail whether it reopens, but they are a business and if there is a business case for services we would hope they would respond to that.