News Release

BNSF Board Elects CEO Matt Rose Chairman Succeeding Rob Krebs, Who is Retiring

FORT WORTH, TEXAS, March 21, 2002:

The Board of Directors of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation (BNSF) (NYSE:BNI) today announced that Matthew K. Rose, 42, who has been BNSF President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) since Dec. 7, 2000, was also elected Chairman, effective today.

The Board also announced the retirement of Robert D. Krebs, 59, as BNSF Chairman. Mr. Krebs, who will not stand for re-election to the Board of Directors, will retire as a Board member effective with the April 17, 2002, Annual Meeting of Shareholders.

Krebs said, “The transition that we began in 1999 when Matt was named BNSF president is now complete. As I have watched Matt lead our Company as CEO, I continue to be impressed by the confidence the BNSF Community has in him and the progress he is making to operate BNSF more effectively as a team in support of meeting our customers’ expectations.”

In commenting on these announcements, Rose said:

“Rob Krebs has had a stellar railroad and business career. His leadership of BNSF since its creation on Sept. 22, 1995, is seen by businesses worldwide as a classic example of melding the best cultural, social, financial and operational practices to create a new company. That task was made all the more difficult given the fact that both predecessor railroads had been operating for 120 years or more when they were combined in 1995.

“Breaking down barriers, creating a common vision and a set of values to guide decision-making at all levels of BNSF will be Rob’s legacy to BNSF. His business acumen, wisdom, enthusiasm and energy will be missed. Over the past five years, Rob has been my mentor and I am grateful for his counsel. I look forward to leading BNSF into the future.”

Through its subsidiary, The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company, BNSF operates one of the largest railroad networks in North America, with 33,000 route-miles covering 28 states and two Canadian provinces. BNSF is an industry leader in Web-enabling a variety of customer transactions; moves more intermodal traffic than any other rail system in the world; is America’s largest grain-hauling railroad, and transports enough coal to generate more than 10 percent of the electricity produced in the United States.

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