Document and Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2000	Jun. 30, 2011	Jul. 29, 2011 Class A [Member]	Jul. 29, 2011 Class B [Member]
Entity Registrant Name	GENESEE & WYOMING INC.
Entity Central Index Key	0001012620
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-K
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2011
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2011
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding			40,276,881	2,192,473
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Public Float		$ 2,274,933,288