News Release

Columbia Grain, BNSF Agree on Montana Shuttle Train Facility

GREAT FALLS, Montana, and FORT WORTH, Texas, December 4, 2006:

Columbia Grain, Inc. (CGI) and BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) announced today that they have agreed to terms and conditions under which Columbia will expand its facility at Carter, Mont., to accommodate 110-car shuttle grain trains. The upgrade to the facility, which currently loads 52-car trains, is expected to be completed during the third quarter of 2007.

The agreement follows BNSF’s announcement in 2004 that it would maintain its Great Falls-Fort Benton line, on which the Carter facility is located, to allow for the operation of 110-car shuttle trains.

“We are pleased to have reached this agreement with Columbia Grain,” says Kevin Kaufman, BNSF’s group vice president, Agricultural Products. “This facility will provide the benefits of shuttle train service to even more Montana farmers, and it reinforces our commitment to the Fort Benton line.”

“Columbia Grain looks forward to the opportunity to better serve Chouteau County producers with efficient and competitive shuttle service,” said Tom Hammond, chief executive officer of Columbia Grain.

Columbia has other shuttle loading facilities in Montana at Harlem, Kasa Point and Rudyard. Addition of the Carter facility will bring the number of BNSF-served shuttle loading facilities in the state to 13.

Columbia Grain is a leading world grain exporter located in Portland, Ore. It supplies superior quality western grain to service both U.S. domestic markets and export markets worldwide. Columbia’s supply lines include the western region of the United States, well known for its high quality wheat, feed grains and pulses. With extensive origination facilities, Columbia is able to supply reliable and quality products to meet its customers’ needs.

A subsidiary of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation (NYSE:BNI), BNSF Railway Company operates one of the largest North American rail networks, with about 32,000 route miles in 28 states and two Canadian provinces. BNSF moves more grain than any other American railroad, is among the world's top transporters of intermodal traffic, carries 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