News Release

BNSF Railway Honored with Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve's 2006 Freedom Award

FORT WORTH, Texas, September 22, 2006:

BNSF Railway (BNSF) today announced that it was honored last night by the national committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) as the recipient of the 2006 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award.

BNSF joins an elite group of 15 companies selected from more than 5,000 nominations, honored for their exceptional support of the National Guard and Reserves.

"We value our employees who choose to serve and are honored that our personnel policies have been recognized for that support," said John Lanigan, BNSF Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, who accepted the honor during the awards ceremony Thursday, Sept. 21, 2006 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C.

"BNSF recognizes the commitment and talent associated with U.S. military service and recognizes the values and sacrifices by those employees called to active duty," said Lanigan, who retired in 1997 from the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve with over 20 years of active duty and reserve service. He commanded six units during his career, including a port security unit that deployed to Operation Desert Storm.

ESGR is a Department of Defense agency established in 1972. The mission of ESGR is to gain and maintain active support from all public and private employers for the men and women of the National Guard and Reserve.

ESGR volunteers provide free education, consultation, and if necessary mediation for employers of Guard and Reserve employees. The organization presently has more the 1.2 million members.

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