Former transport minister Darren Chester was in the midst of overseeing $100 million in plans to fix the track between Albury and Melbourne, when he was dumped from federal cabinet and replaced with Mr Joyce.

A steering committee involving the ARTC, V/Line and the Australian and Victorian governments has been working on how to get the best value for money and was due to report back by the end of 2017, but Ms McGowan now expects an announcement at some point during the summer.

“Darren Chester has done a fantastic job of bringing together this technical committee and I think it’s well-enough advanced that I’m hoping we’ve broken the back of it. We’ve moved beyond the politics, we’re actually talking about how that $100 million will be spent to fix the line up,” she said.

“I’m hoping we’re well-enough advanced that it doesn’t stop and I will be seeking a meeting with Barnaby really soon to ensure he is across it.”

She said she was not concerned that years of negotiations with the former minister would be lost.

Mr Joyce was at the forefront when the government announced funding for the inland rail project in the 2017-18 budget, alongside the North East rail upgrade.

“He knows a lot about the inland rail because that’s his passion, he’s really been pushing it … I think the fact the inland rail got allocated funding in the last budget has got a lot to do with him, so I’m looking forward to having him understand the complexities of our passenger line,” Ms McGowan said.

“All Barnaby has to do is tick it off and think about how the coexistence between the freight line and the passenger line, that we don’t lose out on the passenger service.”

She said she would seek a meeting in the new year.

Border Rail Action Group member John Dunstan said the group was disappointed to lose Mr Chester and hoped the $100 million promise would remain.

“We felt he was a champion of rail and particularly regional rail,” he said.

“We saw him as the key to the government accepting the standard of the track was unacceptable, hence the allocation of $100 million to fix the track.”

The rail steering committee has been developing a range of project options, which Victorian Transport Minister Jacinta Allan also expected to be ready in the coming months.

“Darren Chester has been a great advocate for Victoria in the cabinet, always focused on delivering a good outcome, and it’s a real shame that he has been dumped from the cabinet,” she said.

“This is a once in a generation opportunity and I look forward to working with the Deputy Prime Minister to deliver improvements to get people home sooner, wherever they live.”