News Release

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation Shareholders Elect Directors

FORT WORTH, Texas, April 19, 2006:

Shareholders of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation (BNSF) (NYSE: BNI) elected 11 directors, including Matthew K. Rose, chairman, president and chief executive officer, at the company's annual shareholders meeting held today in Fort Worth.

In addition to Rose, 46, the following directors were elected for a one-year term:

• Alan L. Boeckmann, 57, chairman and chief executive officer of Fluor Corporation;
• Donald G. Cook, 59, retired commander (general), Air Training and Education Command, United States Air Force;
• Vilma S. Martinez, 62, partner in the law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP;
• Marc F. Racicot, 57, president of the American Insurance Association;
• Roy S. Roberts, 66, managing director of Reliant Equity Investors, L.L.C.;
• Marc J. Shapiro, 57, retired vice chairman for finance, risk management, and administration of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.;
• J.C. Watts, Jr., 48, chairman of J.C. Watts Companies L.L.C., and J.C. Watts Enterprises, Inc.;
• Robert H. West, 67, retired chairman and chief executive officer of Butler Manufacturing Company;
• J. Steven Whisler, 51, chairman and chief executive officer of Phelps Dodge Corporation;
• Edward E. Whitacre, Jr., 64, chairman and chief executive officer of SBC Communications Inc.

Shareholders also voted to ratify the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the Company’s independent auditor for 2006, and to approve, as described in the proxy statement, the amended and restated Burlington Northern Santa Fe 1999 Stock Incentive Plan and the amended and restated BNSF Railway Company Incentive Compensation Plan.

Shareholders did not approve shareholder proposals urging that directors be elected by majority vote of the shareholders, and that the positions of chairman of the board and chief executive officer be separated.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation’s subsidiary BNSF Railway Company 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 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