News Release

BNSF Names Three Regional Vice Presidents

FORT WORTH, Texas, January 10, 2005:

The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) has promoted Steve Goodall to regional vice president, North Operations; Mark Kotter to regional vice president, Central Operations, and Chris Roberts to regional vice president, South Operations. Previously, each held the position of assistant vice president for their respective Operations regions. They are responsible for all rail operations on the three geographic regions that comprise the BNSF system.

Goodall joined BNSF in 1980 as an engineering technician and progressed through a series of increasingly responsible engineering positions including roadmaster in 1983, division engineer in 1988, and general director-Field Operations in 1993. He became assistant vice president, Maintenance Performance and Support in 1996; assistant vice president, Chief Engineer - South in 1999, and moved into his current position to lead North Operations this past August. Goodall earned his B.S. degree in Civil Engineering from Fresno State University in 1979 and his M.S. degree in Structural Design from the University of California at Berkeley in 1980.

Kotter joined BNSF in 1974, becoming assistant superintendent for the taconite ore dock operations in Superior, Wis., in 1979, and then superintendent there in 1984. He became a trainmaster in 1986; superintendent of operations in 1988; division superintendent in 1992; assistant vice president, Coal Operations, in 1996; and assistant vice president, Operations North, in 1997. He has been leading Central Operations since mid-2003. Kotter earned a B.A. degree in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin - Superior.

Roberts joined BNSF in 1975 as a switchman/brakeman and progressed through a series of increasingly responsible Operations positions, including engine foreman, yardmaster, power distributor, assistant trainmaster, trainmaster, and general director, Locomotive Utilization. He became assistant vice president, Transportation, in 1994, and was named to lead Operations South in 1997. Roberts completed the Program for Management Development at Harvard University's Graduate School of Business in 1995.

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