Officials: Purchase of railroad shouldn’t affect local operations

The acquisition of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. by Berkshire Hathaway Inc. won’t affect local operations, an official said Tuesday.

Steven Forsberg, general director of public affairs for BNSF, said the change in ownership of the company will not change local operations or employment.

BNSF has about 250 employees in the Newton/Wichita area, Forsberg said.

BNSF, which has a total of about 40,000 employees, operates over a 32,000-mile network in two Canadian provinces and 28 states.

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. agreed to buy Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. on Tuesday.

Burlington Northern is the second-largest U.S. railroad and is the biggest hauler of food products such as corn and coal for electricity, according to the Associated Press.

Berkshire Hathaway already owns about 22 percent of Burlington Northern, and said it will pay $100 a share in cash and stock for the rest of the company.

Berkshire also owns stock in two Union Pacific Corp. and Norfolk Southern Corp., as of June 30.

The deal for Burlington Northern has been approved by the boards of both companies but still needs two-thirds approval of Burlington’s shareholders and antitrust clearance.