Changes in Operations Australia (Details)	12 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended						1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended				1 Months Ended					12 Months Ended				1 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 FreightLink [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 FreightLink [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 FreightLink [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 FreightLink [Member] AUD	Dec. 31, 2010 FreightLink [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 01, 2010 FreightLink [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 01, 2010 FreightLink [Member] AUD	Jun. 30, 2012 Alice Springs [Member] USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2012 Alice Springs [Member] AUD	Sep. 30, 2012 Alice Springs [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Alice Springs [Member] AUD	Sep. 30, 2012 Cook [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Cook [Member] AUD	Jul. 31, 2012 Arrium Limited [Member] tons	Dec. 31, 2012 Narrow Gauge Locomotives And Wagons [Member] Arrium Limited [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Narrow Gauge Locomotives And Wagons [Member] Arrium Limited [Member] AUD	Dec. 31, 2013 Scenario, Forecast [Member] Narrow Gauge Locomotives And Wagons [Member] Arrium Limited [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Scenario, Forecast [Member] Narrow Gauge Locomotives And Wagons [Member] Arrium Limited [Member] AUD	Dec. 31, 2012 Non interest bearing note [Member] FreightLink [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Non interest bearing note [Member] FreightLink [Member] AUD	Dec. 01, 2010 Non interest bearing note [Member] FreightLink [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 01, 2010 Non interest bearing note [Member] FreightLink [Member] AUD	Dec. 31, 2010 United States Revolving Loan [Member] FreightLink [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Australia Revolving Loan [Member] FreightLink [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Australia Revolving Loan [Member] FreightLink [Member] AUD
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Payments to Acquire Property, Plant, and Equipment	$ 231,694,000	$ 178,668,000	$ 119,840,000								$ 9,200,000	9,000,000
Stamp duty	0	0	12,625,000			11,500,000	11,800,000						600,000	500,000
Proceeds from disposition of property and equipment	15,298,000	9,464,000	9,991,000												4,100,000	4,000,000
Gain on sale of assets															1,300,000	1,300,000
EPS impact from gain on sale of sssets															$ 0.03
Tons per year of product shipped																	2,700,000
Other Commitment																		54,100,000	52,100,000	18,700,000	17,900,000
Total consideration									320,000,000	331,900,000
Long-term debt assumed									1,741,000	1,806,000												2,200,000		1,700,000	1,800,000
Long-term debt	1,858,135,000	626,194,000							48,200,000														52,000,000	48,200,000	50,000,000
Debt instrument, maturity date	Jul. 29, 2016																					Jan. 14, 2054	Jan. 14, 2054
Concession Agreement expiration date					Jan. 14, 2054
Acquisition costs	18,592,000	0	0	28,200,000				7,800,000
Stamp duty	0	0	16,369,000	16,400,000
Other expenses				11,000,000
Labor and benefits	257,618,000	236,152,000	207,863,000	800,000
Proceeds from long-term lines of credit																										$ 100,000,000	$ 94,000,000	97,000,000