News Release

John Hickerson Joins BNSF as Assistant Vice President, Truckload Marketing

FORT WORTH, Texas, January 6, 2004:

The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) today announced the appointment of John T. Hickerson as Assistant Vice President, Truckload Marketing. Hickerson will report to Steve Branscum, group vice president, Consumer Products.

Hickerson, 51, joins BNSF from Roadway Next Day Corporation in Akron, Ohio, where he served as President. Before joining Roadway in January 2003, he spent 22 years with the Con-Way family of companies, most recently as President and Chief Executive Officer, Con-Way Southern Express.

"We are excited to have John join BNSF," Branscum says. "With his vast experience and knowledge of the trucking industry, John possesses the vision and leadership needed to successfully enable BNSF to provide our domestic truckload customers with integrated transportation solutions.

"Our growth initiative and five-year revenue targets call for increasing our intermodal business. John’s significantly proven record of customer service, revenue growth and people leadership are critical characteristics to ensure that BNSF consistently achieves its targets."

In 1977, Hickerson began his career in transportation with Roadway Express and held positions as dock foreman and sales representative. He went on to Consolidated Freightways in 1981 and held positions as terminal manager at two locations. In 1986, he joined the CF Truckload Group as Director of Sales and subsequently held the positions of Vice President of Marketing and Sales and Vice President and General Manager of the company.

Hickerson belongs to the American Trucking Association, where he served as State Vice President of Texas. He has also served as past Chairman, Executive Committee for the Texas Motor Transportation Association and past Board Member of the Texas Chamber of Commerce.

Hickerson received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Centenary College in Shreveport, La. He received post-graduate education through the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Anderson School of Business and Columbia University's Senior Executive Program.

A subsidiary of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation (NYSE:BNI), BNSF operates one of the largest railroad networks in North America, with about 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 mineral components of many of the products we depend on daily, and hauls enough coal to generate about ten 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