News Release

BNSF Begins Taking Delivery of Camera-Equipped Locomotives

FORT WORTH, Texas, May 18, 2005:

BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) has begun taking delivery of production locomotives equipped with forward-facing video cameras from GE Engine Services (GE). The cameras are being installed to help provide information on grade-crossing and train/pedestrian accidents.

The railway expects to equip a total of 350 locomotives, including about 180 new locomotives and 170 retrofits, by the end of 2005. BNSF plans to install the cameras on lead-qualified locomotives that will operate throughout the system.

One camera will be mounted on each locomotive. The camera is intended to capture the view of the track ahead as seen by the locomotive engineer. The camera will be mounted inside the windshield of the cab and will be pointed down the track ahead. It will not provide a view of any activity inside the locomotive cab.

The camera will be mounted behind the locomotive’s windshield and will be fixed in position; it will not be able to move from side to side or up and down. The camera is located so as not to interfere with train crew members’ vision from the cab.

The camera installation will also include a microphone, placed outside the cab. Its purpose is to record exterior sounds, such as the locomotive whistle and bell; it is not intended to capture conversation inside the cab.

The camera will be synchronized with the locomotive event recorder. The camera will provide color video at 15 frames per second, compared with 30 frames per second for standard broadcast video.

Each camera will record at least 70 hours’ information, given normal locomotive operating conditions. Recorded audio and video can be downloaded by BNSF and used for such purposes as confirming the operation of grade crossing warning devices and motorist behavior.

BNSF installed cameras on six GE Dash 9 locomotives as part of an initial implementation in August 2004. The first six cameras helped BNSF determine specifications and requirements for locomotive-mounted video cameras.

A subsidiary of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation (NYSE:BNI), BNSF Railway operates one of the largest railroad networks in North America, with about 32,000 route miles in 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 Railway 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