Getting purchased by one of the world's most successful investors wins some attention for a company, but BNSF 's new ownership should not have an immediate impact on the railroad.

North Dakota Public Service Commissioner Tony Clark said that Warren Buffett's purchase of BNSF will probably not have much effect on the railroad's service since the deal involved a major shareholder buying the remainder of the company rather than an acquisition by another company.

"It probably will be different from when Burlington Northern and Santa Fe merged," Clark said. The two companies became BNSF in 1996. "As for the customer-shipper impact, I wouldn't be surprised if there's no impact."

Buffett is known for investing for the long term and buying companies to grow their value. Clark said that Buffett likely saw a bargain that will prove lucrative once the economy recovers.

"Traditionally, when Buffett buys a company it's not to flip it," he said.

Owning a rail company also fits in with Buffett's stake in MidAmerican Energy, a power-generating company that primarily serves customers in Iowa and depends on coal as an energy source. Control of BNSF gives Buffett's holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, the transportation infrastructure to carry coal from fields in Wyoming to its power plants in the Midwest.

"It's very interesting for me to see him move up the chain of utilities," Clark said.

(Reach reporter Christopher Bjorke at 250-8261 or chris.bjorke@bismarcktribune.com.)