Burlington

We are in July 1990, and the senior executives of Burlington Northern (BN) are about to decide about investing or not in Advanced Railroad Electronics System (ARES), an electronic system that will change the whole BN organization. The implementation of this system has been considered and tested for nine years, and is expected to cost $350 million.

Burlington Northern Railroad

Burlington Northern Railroad was formed in 1970 and is the outcome of the merger of four different railroads. The company as formed owns extensive land grant holdings including minerals, timber, and oil and gas. In 1989, up to 800 trains daily run on BN routes generating revenues of $4606 million and net income of $242 million. Total assets equaled $6146 million, and 1989 capital expenditures were $465 million. BN’s diverse operations and staffs were headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, Overland Park, Kansas, and St. Paul, Minnesota.
Since 1981, BN managers had begun to consider whether automated control t...