Document and Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	Apr. 30, 2012 Common Class A [Member]	Apr. 30, 2012 Preferred Class B [Member]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
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		53,013,610	2,112,048
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes