Related Party Transactions	12 Months Ended
Related Party Transactions	Dec. 31, 2012
Related Party Transactions [Abstract]
Related Party Transactions	Related Party Transactions The companies identified as affiliates of BNSF include Berkshire and its subsidiaries. For the year ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, the Company declared and paid distributions of $3.75 billion and $3.5 billion, respectively, to its parent company. For the year ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, the Company received tax refunds of $0 million and $426 million, respectively, from Berkshire, and made cash payments of $1,033 million and $396 million, respectively, for income taxes to Berkshire. Effective January 1, 2013, BNSF has a multi-year coal transportation agreement with MidAmerican Energy, an affiliate of BNSF, for the delivery of coal to the majority of MidAmerican Energy's coal-fueled generating facilities.

The entire disclosure for related party transactions. Examples of related party transactions include transactions between (a) a parent company and its subsidiary; (b) subsidiaries of a common parent; (c) and entity and its principal owners; and (d) affiliates.

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-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

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