NS and BNSF Railway to Test New Train Brake Technology

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-----Original Message-----
From: <mailto:owner-nsinfo%40nscorp.com>owner-nsinfo at nscorp.com 
[mailto:owner-nsinfo at nscorp.com]
Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2007 1:46 PM
Subject: NS and BNSF Railway to Test New Train Brake Technology

March 29, 2007

Norfolk Southern and BNSF Railway to Test New Train Brake Technology

NORFOLK, VA AND FORT WORTH, TEXAS, March 29, 2007 - Norfolk Southern
Railway (NS) and BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) will begin testing a new
braking system that may reduce the amount of time it takes to stop a
train.

The project, authorized by the Federal Railroad Administration, calls
for NS and BNSF to equip and test certain locomotives and freight cars
with electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes.

ECP brakes have the potential to reduce train stopping distances by as
much as 50 to 70 percent over conventional air brake systems. ECP
brakes utilize electronic signals to simultaneously apply and release
throughout the length of a freight train. This differs from
conventional brake systems in which each car brakes individually as air
pressure moves in a series from car to car.

Testing ECP will allow the railroads to review its potential for
improved braking and shorter stopping distances that may improve
railroad and public safety, network capacity and efficiency, asset
utilization, fuel savings and equipment maintenance.

NS and BNSF plan to conduct separate ECP brake tests. NS plans to equip
30 locomotives and 400 rapid-discharge coal cars with ECP brakes during
2007 and use the equipment in dedicated coal train service.
BNSF plans to test this technology within its intermodal fleet,
focusing on international business to/from the San Pedro Bay ports. In
addition, BNSF is pursing a partnership with a major coal customer to
integrate this technology into one of the longest distance coal routes
in the country.

"ECP brakes represent a major breakthrough in rail technology," said
Gerhard Thelen, Norfolk Southern's vice president operations planning
and support. "Our tests will help determine how the technology performs
in a real-world environment and will indicate whether it will be
practical to one day make it commonplace across the entire U.S. rail
industry."

"BNSF plans to expand the testing of this important technology within
its fleet," said Dave Dealy, BNSF's vice president, Transportation. "By
leveraging our past experience with this technology, BNSF looks forward
to building on this foundation to allow further implementation of ECP
into our intermodal and coal shipments."

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) is one of the nation's premier
transportation companies. Its Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary
operates approximately 21,000 route miles in 22 states, the District of
Columbia and Ontario, Canada, serving every major container port in the
eastern United States and providing superior connections to western
rail carriers. NS operates the most extensive intermodal network in the
East and is North America's largest rail carrier of metals and
automotive products.

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 is among the world's top transporters of intermodal
traffic, moves more grain than any other American railroad, 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 contacts:
Patrick Hiatte, 817-867-6418, 
(<mailto:patrick.hiatte%40bnsf.com>patrick.hiatte at bnsf.com)

Norfolk Southern contacts:
(Media) Susan Terpay, 757-823-5204, 
(<mailto:susan.terpay%40nscorp.com>susan.terpay at nscorp.com)
(Investors) Leanne Marilley, 757-629-2861 
(<mailto:leanne.marilley%40nscorp.com>leanne.marilley at nscorp.com)

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Norfolk Southern Corporation
<http://www.nscorp.com>http://www.nscorp.com