News Release

BNSF Foundation Donates $20,000 in Disaster Relief to Aid Tornado Victims

FORT WORTH, Texas, May 7, 2003 :

The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Foundation (BNSF) today announced that it is donating a total of $20,000 in disaster relief funds to four different chapters of the American Red Cross in Kansas and Missouri to help provide emergency aid to the victims of the tornados that recently devastated several communities in both states.

The four Red Cross Chapters selected to each receive a BNSF Foundation check for $5,000 are: the American Red Cross - Greater Kansas City Chapter, the American Red Cross - Wyandotte County Chapter, The American Red Cross - Greater Ozarks Chapter based in Springfield, and the American Red Cross - Pioneer Chapter which serves several counties in Southeast Kansas. The four Red Cross chapters were selected by the BNSF Foundation based on the chapter service areas, which include many of the counties in Kansas and Missouri that suffered some of the most severe damage that are also served by The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company. Most of the checks will be delivered in person by BNSF representatives today.

"Many of the communities that were so heavily damaged by these storms are directly served by BNSF. The victims are in many ways our friends and neighbors, and in some cases literally our own employees" said Matthew K. Rose, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation (BNSF).

The BNSF Foundation is the principal philanthropic organization for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation and its subsidiary, The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company. The BNSF Foundation has made similar donations in the wake of natural disasters on its system for several years.

Through its subsidiary, The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company, BNSF operates one of the largest rail networks in North America, with 32,500 route miles of track covering 28 states and two Canadian provinces. BNSF is an industry leader in Web-enabling a wide variety of customer transactions. The railway moves more intermodal traffic than any other rail system in the world, is America's largest grain-hauling railroad, and hauls enough coal to generate more than 11 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