Railroad adapting in a deregulated world

By Richard C. Grsyson President and Chief Executive Officer Burlington Northern Railroad

THE Burling- I ton Northern Railroad has long been a hauler of the nation's forest products. Two ofour predecessor lines, the Great Northern and Northern Pacific, opened up vast timberland resources in the Northwest to an expanding nation during the late I 9th century.

Today, our railroad is the nation's largest rail carrier of forest products, in terms of revenues and sales. Forest products normally account for about 20s/o of our non-coal revenues each year.

Our state-of-the-art transportation network is useless unless it meets the needs of its shippers, efficiently and economically. Helping us to do so is today's less-regulated transportation environment.

These changes have enabled BN Railroad to "venture into uncharted transportation territory" in an effort to become more responsive to individual customer needs.

To date, we've negotiated 25 rate and service contracts. Our customer is guaranteed a stable rate level and car supply; we're guaranteed a certain traffic volume.

Lumber reload centers combine energy-efficient, long-haul rail transportation with flexible, doorto-handle truck delivery, and BN Railroad has designated three independently operated centers: Sioux City, Ia.; Harvard, Ar.; and

Story at a Glance

Deregulalion's effecl on pric. ing ...an uplurn in April or May if interest rates do not increase . smaller housing units . . . a gradual economic increase.