Document and Entity Information	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2011	Oct. 28, 2011 Common Class A [Member]	Oct. 28, 2011 Preferred Class B [Member]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2011
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2011
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Entity Registrant Name	GENESEE & WYOMING INC.
Entity Central Index Key	0001012620
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		40,104,601	2,206,343
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes

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