THE Border Rail Action Group says independent MP Cathy McGowan has been "unrelenting" in attempting to fix the problem-plagued North East train line.
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Its defence of the retiring member for Indi follows Farrer MP Sussan Ley using a radio advertisement to highlight Ms McGowan's unfulfilled promise to fix the rail line while in parliament.
"Independents can promise many things but only governments can deliver," Ms Ley said.
"In her six years in office she (Ms McGowan) has been unrelenting in her efforts to gain traction on the issues of the North East rail corridor," Mr Traill said.
"We're non-partisan politically but we'll go into bat for those that have helped us and to address the misinformation that was in that advertisement."
Mr Traill seconded comments made by North East Rail Corridor Group chairwoman and Wodonga mayor Anna Speedie that Ms Ley or her delegates had not attended meetings of the organisation.
The retiree said he was surprised Ms Ley had done an advertisement about the line because he believed she had shown "no practical or superficial interest in the rail situation".
"The crossbench is here to stay and they can make things happen, which is in contrast to Ley's proposition that only the major parties can deliver," Mr Traill said.
He suggested the combination of Ms McGowan, Greens senator Janet Rice and BRAG's John Dunstan was integral to the federal government committing $235 million to upgrading the line.
"It is BRAG's view that this outcome would not have eventuated were it not for initiatives outside the political establishment of the two main parties," Mr Traill said.
