News Release

Star Tribune Continues to Ignore Critical Facts and Mislead Readers with Latest "Investigative" Story

FORT WORTH, Texas, Dec. 7, 2010:

BNSF is deeply concerned that the Minneapolis Star Tribune continues to deliberately withhold facts from its readers that contradict its misleading and biased series about this company. In today's report, the paper again fails to inform its readers that every single eyewitness to a 2003 grade crossing collision in Anoka, Minnesota, supports the official State Patrol finding that the accident occurred because the car drove around properly functioning warning lights and gates and onto the track.

The Star Tribune story leaves the impression there was only one eyewitness to this tragic accident, the train's engineer. That is absolutely false and the Star Tribune knows it to be false because they have directly interviewed other eyewitnesses and withheld that information from their reporting.

The fact is there were five eyewitnesses. These witnesses included the train engineer who saw the Cavalier maneuver around the gates onto the tracks; the train's conductor, who had seen the lights flashing and the gates down; a community member who swore in an affidavit and in a deposition taken by plaintiffs' counsel that she witnessed the signal activation but had no reason to come forward earlier because the media had reported the gates were down; and an active duty Coon Rapids police officer and his wife who voluntarily came forward and testified under oath in a deposition that the gates and lights were working at the Anoka crossing when the train involved in the fatal accident approached.

"For more than two years, this paper has crossed the objectivity line in their relationships with plaintiffs' attorneys," said John Ambler, BNSF vice president, Corporate Relations. "The Star Tribune has chosen to selectively ignore contradictory evidence that they have in their possession simply because it does not fit their biased opinion and those of their plaintiffs' attorney sources. Businesses and citizens in a democracy are entitled to an objective account of events in order to form their own opinions. An authentic 'investigative' story would have revealed what the public, and in some cases the jury, did not hear about this case."

About BNSF

BNSF Railway is one of North America's leading freight transportation companies operating on 32,000 route miles of track in 28 states and two Canadian provinces. BNSF offers broad access to the North American market through five US-Mexico Gateways and five US-Canada Gateways. BNSF is one of the top transporters of consumer goods, grain, industrial goods and low-sulfur coal that help feed, clothe, supply, and power American homes and businesses every day. BNSF and its employees have developed one of the most technologically advanced, and efficient railroads in the industry. And we are working continuously to improve the value of the safety, service, energy, and environmental benefits we provide to our customers and the communities we serve. You can learn more about BNSF at www.BNSF.com.

BNSF Headquarters
BNSF Railway Company
2650 Lou Menk Dr. 2nd Floor
Fort Worth, TX 76131-2830
P.O. Box 961057
Fort Worth, TX 76161-0057
Phone: (817) 352-1000