Contact: Jim Sabourin (817) 352-6412 -- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FORT WORTH, Texas, November 11, 1997 -- The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) today announced it has sold a 22.9-mile stretch of track in southeastern North Dakota to Rutland Line, Inc., a subsidiary of Red River Valley & Western Railroad Company. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. The line, which extends from Geneseo Junction to Havana, N.D., was offered for sale as part of BNSF's ongoing asset evaluation program. Since 1996, BNSF has sold more than 2,500 miles of light-density lines as a part of this program. Additionally, BNSF has granted rights to Rutland as a "using company" over 42 miles of joint BNSF/Canadian Pacific Railway trackage between BN Junction, Minn., and Geneseo Junction, N.D. As part of the agreement, Rutland Line now serves former BNSF customers on this line, and interchanges with BNSF at Breckenridge, Minn. BNSF (NYSE:BNI) operates one of the largest railroad networks in North America, with 35,000 route miles covering 28 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. |