A movement for commuter rail is gaining speed as city representatives are moving closer to taking a crucial first step.

In the past three months staff and council members from Covington, Black Diamond and Maple Valley have learned up close and personal about commuter rail in this corner of the county, according to Covington City Manager Derek Matheson.

“Two major things have been happening since the end of April,” Matheson said. “The first was on May 27 we partnered with the Cascadia Discovery Institute to go on a field trip to Portland to see their brand new DMU (Diesel Multiple Units) system in action.”

Officials from Covington, Maple Valley and Black Diamond have worked for nearly a year advocating for a diesel multiple unit, or DMU, rail line that would connect all three cities to the Sounder rail line in Auburn.

In February a similar line was opened in Oregon connecting Portland to its western suburbs which Matheson and others got to check out in May.

“We had elected officials and staff from Covington, Maple Valley, Black Diamond and Auburn take part in the trip,” Matheson said. “The trip was a much bigger deal than I thought it would be. The trip helped us put our project into a larger context.”

During that trips the mayors of Portland and Vancouver, B.C., made an announcement that there are plans to put together a high speed rail line along the Interstate 5 corridor.

“We’re not just a feeder line for the Sounder commuter rail system,” Matheson said. “We could be a feeder line for high speed rail throughout the Pacific Northwest.”

Matheson also got the opportunity to ride the WES, TriMet’s DMU line that connects Portland to its western suburbs, while on the field trip.

“I was very impressed with DMU service,” he said. “It was a much more comfortable, quiet ride than I expected. It felt a lot more like light rail than heavy rail. It was a more comfortable ride than the Amtrak. Each car has its own smaller propulsion system. That’s why it’s quieter, smoother, more environmentally friendly.”

DMU is not light rail nor is it a locomotive, but being diesel fueled the rail cars could run on biodiesel, which gives it the potential to be a green commuter method.

“There’s a lot of energy behind rail transportation here in the Pacific Northwest,” Matheson said. “We’re at the beginning of a lot of growth in commuter rail. The Obama administration’s greater focus on rail as a mode of transportation is not just going to support what we’re doing here in South King County but what’s happening regionally to promote rail transportation.”

In the meantime, the cities are working with the Washington State Department of Transportation to make the most of the $400,000 the state legislature provided for the first phase of a feasibility study.

“We’ve been working closely with WashDOT to sort out the roles and responsibility and the scope for the $400,000 for the feasibility study,” Matheson said. “It looks like WashDOT is going to conduct the study with a mixture of in house staff from their planning office and their rail office with strong oversight from the Southeast King County cities.”

In addition, Matheson said, Rep. Dave Reichert, R-8th Congressional District, and U.S senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray are working at the federal level to get an additional $600,000 “which would fund the next step in the project.”

Matheson said the goal is to get the feasibility study started this summer and that it will look at things like how much demand there is for this type of service as well as compare it to bus rapid transit as well as evaluating costs to build, maintain and operate the DMU system and look at any environmental impacts.

“We’ll do an initial look at financing, how we can pay for a DMU system, and we’ll take a high level look at governance — who would actually build, maintain and operate this,” Matheson said.

Covington City Councilman Wayne Snoey has been a proponent of this concept as well as improving bus service to his city for some time. So far, things look good to him.

“I am very encouraged with the progress that we are making,” Snoey said. “The level of excitement, collaboration and support we are receiving from business and political leaders, both regionally and nationally is inspirational for those of us working on this innovative idea. Everyone we talk with sees the obvious need for this transit system and that it just makes sense. Having recently ridden on the identical system, that just began service south of Portland, has shown us it really works and is no longer just something in the distant future.”

Noel Gerken, who serves on the Maple Valley City Council, is also happy with how things are going at this point.

“I am pleased with the progress,” Gerken said in an e-mail. “The three cities are meeting with WSDOT, the lead agency, and working on an interlocal agreement, which should be ready soon. Once it’s in place we can begin the study. It’s a unique opportunity and the three cities effectively partnering together to work with WSDOT is also new. Everybody is committed to getting the highest quality study possible.”

This idea was introduced last summer at a joint city council meeting of Black Diamond, Covington and Maple Valley.

Another critical issue that cuts to the heart of the reason behind the concept is to make commuting easier for residents of all three cities, which all are still bedroom communities.

With YarrowBay planning to develop large swaths of real estate in Maple Valley and Black Diamond in the next decade it is vital to officials with both cities to find alternative ways for future and current residents to get around.

For Matheson, there’s another critical component to bringing commuter rail to his city.

“From a Covington perspective this DMU feasibility study goes hand in hand in hand with our downtown plan and zoning study,” Matheson said. “A train station could be a great anchor and a great catalyst in our efforts to create a town center, a more traditional main street that serves as the heart of our community.”

This idea is still in its infancy so moving forward with the feasibility study is a critical first step in a long journey.

“When we first sat down with WashDOT to talk about how to do the feasibility they were just amazed that the idea had come up in summer 2008 and we had the money to do the study in spring 2009,” Matheson said. “In the case of WES (in Portland) it was 10 years from concept to reality. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, we’ve got a good start on the first step, but there’s a long way to go.”