News Release

BNSF Awards Train Control Pilot to Wabtec

WILMERDING, Pa., July 14, 2003:

Wabtec Corporation (NYSE: WAB) has been awarded a contract by The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) to conduct a train control pilot program using Wabtec's Electronic Train Management System (ETMS).

"BNSF is the second North American railroad to select Wabtec to pilot a train control system," says Robert P. Haag, president of Wabtec Railway Electronics. "It's encouraging to see BNSF, with its experience with positive train control systems, move forward with this pilot project."

Work will begin immediately to install and test the system on 50 locomotives that operate along a 135-mile corridor between Centralia and Beardstown, Ill. "We have been studying train control systems for some time, and we are looking forward to launching this pilot with Wabtec later this summer," said Carl R. Ice, BNSF's Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer. "We are interested in determining the improvements in both safety and train operations the system can deliver."

With ETMS, movement-related information, such as authority limits, speed limits and work zones are passed through a digital communications network and displayed on a computer screen inside the locomotive cab. The onboard computer, with location information provided via the global positioning system, will warn then automatically initiate braking if the engineer fails to respond appropriately to movement and speed limit information. In addition, the onboard display includes a moving map detailing grade, curvature and track topology.

A subsidiary of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation (NYSE:BNI), BNSF operates one of the largest railroad networks in North America, with 32,500 route miles covering 28 states and two Canadian provinces. BNSF is an industry leader in Web-enabling a variety of customer transactions at www.bnsf.com. The railway is among the world's top transporters of intermodal traffic, moves more grain than any other American railroad, transports the components of many of the products we depend on daily, and hauls enough coal to generate about 10 percent of the electricity produced in the United States.

With locations in Germantown, Md. and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Wabtec Railway Electronics is a leader in the development and manufacture of electronic train control equipment and system solutions for the rail industry. Wabtec Corporation (www.wabtec.com) is one of North America's largest providers of value-added, technology-based products and services for the rail industry. Through its subsidiaries, the company manufactures a range of products for locomotives, freight cars and passenger transit vehicles. The company also builds new switcher and commuter locomotives, and provides aftermarket services, including locomotive and freight car fleet maintenance. The company has facilities located throughout the world. Wabtec's mission is to be judged by its stakeholders as the world-class corporation focused on helping its global customers compete more effectively through higher levels of safety, quality and productivity.

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