News Release

BNSF Promotes John Hickerson and Fred Malesa to Vice President

FORT WORTH, Texas, January 6, 2005:

The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) today announced the promotion of John Hickerson to vice president, Domestic Intermodal and Fred Malesa to vice president, International Intermodal. Hickerson and Malesa both report to Steve Branscum, group vice president, Consumer Products.

Hickerson is responsible for marketing and sales for BNSF’s domestic intermodal business which includes parcel, less-than-truckload, truckload, IMC marketing and national account sales.

Malesa is responsible for marketing and sales for BNSF’s international marketing business.

In making the announcement, Branscum said, "John and Fred and their teams have done an outstanding job driving double-digit revenue growth for both the truckload and international sectors of intermodal. It is because of their efforts that BNSF continues to be a leader in intermodal transportation."

Hickerson joined BNSF January 2004 as assistant vice president, Truckload Sales. Prior to joining BNSF, Hickerson was the president of Roadway Next Day Corporation. Before that, he spent 22 years with the Con-Way family of companies, most recently as president and chief executive officer for Con-Way Southern Express. Hickerson received his B.S. degree in Business Administration from Centenary College in Shreveport, La., and did post-graduate education through the Anderson School of Business at the University of California at Los Angeles and Columbia University’s Executive Program.

Malesa joined BNSF in late 1993 as an account leader and has been assistant vice president, International Marketing since December 2000. He became director, Field Marketing in 1995; general director, Field Sales in 1996; and general director, Equipment and Systems Support in 1997. He was appointed assistant vice president, Supply Chain in 1998. Before joining BNSF, Malesa was with Union Pacific Railroad for 10 years, most recently as assistant to vice president, Bulk Commodities. Malesa earned his B.S. degree in Economic Science from the University of Nebraska and M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University.

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