News Release

BNSF Reduces Wheat Rates for Smaller Shippers, Simplifies Rate Structure

FORT WORTH, Texas, October 18, 2004:

The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) today announced it has reduced rates for single- and 26-car shipments by simplifying the rate structure for wheat shipments. Effective December 1, 2004, the rate spread between single- and 26-car shipments as well as 26- and 52-car shipments will be $75 per car in all markets.

"In an effort to accommodate our customers who ship in smaller quantities, we have simplified our wheat rate spread," says Kevin Kaufman, group vice president, Agricultural Products. "Not only is the rate structure simplified, but it also results in a rate reduction for our single and 26-car shippers."

Examples of rate reductions as a result of the change include:

• a $98 per car reduction on wheat moving in single cars from North Dakota to Minneapolis,
• a $139 per car reduction on wheat moving in 26-car units from North Dakota and Montana to the Pacific Northwest,
• a $277 per car reduction on wheat moving in single cars from North Dakota and Montana to the Pacific Northwest.

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. 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 low-sulphur coal to generate about ten percent of the electricity produced in the United States. BNSF is an industry leader in Web-enabling a variety of customer transactions at www.bnsf.com.

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