Mr McCormack announced on Friday that the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) has signed deals worth $143 million with Austrak to supply sleepers for the $14 billion project.

Austrak will produce 1.3 million concrete rail sleepers over the next five years, saving the factory from closure and guaranteeing the 36 local jobs during that period.

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"It's going to create energy and excitement and most importantly jobs," Mr McCormack said.

"The crunch number is 36 here at this Wagga plant ... but 21,500 jobs are going to be secured over the life time of this project."

The project has attracted criticism due to uncertainty around the cost and exactly where the rail line will start and end, but Mr McCormack said that cost blow-outs are the nature of building things.

"When the Inland Rail was first announced it was a desktop analysis - $9 billion was the figure, that's increased to $14.5 billion," he said.

"As these projects unfold you realise there's more work to be done."

There is also concern the project will create significant disruption as a number of bridges across the city will undergo construction to allow for the double-stacked freight trains.

Independent candidate for Riverina Pennie Scott has made the project an election issue, but Mr McCormack remained unmoved by the complaints.

"Everybody in Wagga Wagga will benefit. People around Wagga understand that jobs are important," he said. "Wagga has never seen such an investment from a federal government as they are seeing right now.

"For anybody to rubbish this project, they should take a look at themselves in the mirror, quite frankly."

Austrak managing director Murray Adams said it is the largest sleeper order ever seen in Australia, and he expects it will mean more jobs for Wagga in the near future.

"We have actually won some other contracts now on the back of this contract," he said.

"We're actually recruiting. This factory here in Wagga is now going to be competitive into Victoria and into Queensland."

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