A claim the $235 million allocated to the North East railway line repair job was the "direct response to a long-running campaign" by former member of Indi Cathy McGowan has been challenged by some of the key players.
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The claim was made by Ms McGowan's parliamentary successor Helen Haines in a press release which also confirmed she had arranged a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure Minister Michael McCormack in the wake of the XPT derailment near Wallan which claimed the lives of two people.
The Border Rail Action Group also played a pivotal role in highlighting the track's shortcomings.
"I asked to meet with Mr McCormack to discuss with him the many, many concerns our communities have about this railway line," Dr Haines said in the statement.
"One of these is that the $235 million the government committed in direct response to a long-running campaign by Cathy McGowan to fix its problems may not be enough."
Dr Haines' office was contacted for further clarification on the comment.
But former federal infrastructure minister Darren Chester played down Ms McGowan's influence.
"It is a complete fantasy amongst the crossbenches that writing press releases is the same as doing the policy work and securing the support of the Finance Minister and Treasury to deliver funding for our regional areas," he said.
"I acknowledge the tragic accident that occurred on the line last week.
"As these investigations are ongoing, it is inappropriate to speculate on the possible causes of the derailment, but I extend my deepest sympathies to the families and friends affected.
"As a Victorian, I am determined to deliver improved transport connections for all our regional centres and the best way to achieve that is working through the Cabinet process.
"I am proud of our government's commitment to support rail upgrades in the North East and will keep working to secure additional funding in the future."
"I'm working closely with the Deputy Prime Minister to see that work get underway in coming months."
Ms McGowan said at her 2013 campaign launch: "I will call on the Australian Rail Track Corporation to commit to completing the Wodonga-Melbourne railway track before the end of the year".
