News Release

BNSF Launches Mexi-Modal - A Transborder Intermodal Service

FORT WORTH, Texas, June 28, 2001:

The Rail/Truck Service Creates a Seamless Transportation Network Connecting Major North American Markets.

The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) today announced the launch of Mexi-Modal – an intermodal service that creates a seamless and easy to use transportation network connecting major markets in Mexico, the U.S. and Canada.

With Mexi-Modal, BNSF coordinates the entire transborder shipping process, door-to-door, through cooperation with Canadian National Railway Company (CN), Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM) and several Mexican trucking companies.

“Mexi-Modal is the solution to decades of difficulties for companies that have used over-the-road carriers to transport goods to or from Mexico, as well as those that have avoided transborder commerce entirely because of the cumbersome process,” said Richard Miller, assistant vice president, BNSF Mexico Business. “We now provide seamless service into and out of Mexico, and handle all the procedures and hassles most shippers don’t want to deal with.”

Through the Mexi-Modal Internet site, posted at bnsf.com/productofferings, customers can learn more about Mexi-Modal and instantly check door-to-door rates for service in various lanes. Then, with a simple call to a BNSF representative in the United States, customers can book loads and arrange for movement of freight.

BNSF’s Mexi-Modal service consists of three distinct products:

• MidBridge – This product mirrors how most transborder truck transportation into and out of Mexico is conducted today, by allowing the purchase of products to occur at the “middle of the bridge” between Laredo, Texas and Mexico. MidBridge allows freight to be moved by rail in the U.S. and Canada and by truck in Mexico.
• Laredo – This product allows a customer to move full truckload freight from the U.S. or Canada by rail either to or from a designated warehouse in Laredo, Texas – enabling customers to store freight in Laredo, Texas for warehousing.
• MexiStack – This all-rail product allows the purchase of goods to occur at the U.S., Canadian or Mexican origin or destination. North of the border the customer’s freight is moved by BNSF or CN, and by TFM in Mexico.

“With Mexi-Modal, customers can pick the product that best suits their transportation needs. In addition, we’re currently exploring additional rail and truck partnerships to expand the Mexi-Modal network,” said Miller. “In January, BNSF introduced a ramp-to-door intermodal service to Mexico, which was well received. Mexi-Modal is a natural progression and reflects our continuing effort to make it easier to conduct transborder transportation.”

Headquartered in Fort Worth, BNSF operates one of the largest rail networks in North America, with 33,500 route miles of track covering 28 states and two Canadian provinces. BNSF moved more than 3.5 million containers and trailers in 2000 through its extensive network of 35 intermodal hubs, making it the largest intermodal carrier in the world.

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