BNSF based in Fort Worth, Texas, said net income rose to $414 million, or $1.09 a share, compared with $2 million, or 1 cents a share in the year-earlier period, when the company recorded a $288 million tax charge.

The company said revenue in the three months ended Sept. 30 rose 19% to $3.32 billion from $2.79 billion.

The average estimate from analysts polled by Thomson First Call was for earnings of $1 share and $3.2 billion in revenue.

"Demand for rail transportation continues to outpace the rest of the economy," according to a statement from Matthew K. Rose, BNSF chairman, president and chief executive.

Shares of Burlington Northern rose 4.7% early Tuesday to $61.74.

Fuel surcharges increased revenue in the quarter by $296 million compared with $95 million in the third-quarter of 2004.

Revenues from shipping consumer products increased $234 million, or 21%; industrial products revenue rose $109 million, or 17%; and agricultural products revenue gained $104 million, or 25%, largely because of strong exports through the Gulf and Pacific Northwest ports. Coal revenues rose by $33 million, or 6%.