Changes in Operations Purchase Price Allocation (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 RailAmerica [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 28, 2012 RailAmerica [Member] USD ($)	Oct. 02, 2012 RailAmerica [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 01, 2011 AZER [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 FreightLink [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 01, 2010 FreightLink [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 01, 2010 FreightLink [Member] AUD	Sep. 30, 2010 FreightLink [Member] USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2010 FreightLink [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2010 FreightLink [Member] USD ($)
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Income from equity investment in RailAmerica, net	$ 15,557,000	$ 0	$ 0
Comprehensive Income (Loss), Net of Tax, Attributable to Parent	61,809,000	117,265,000	101,891,000	(2,000,000)
Reduction in net cash paid for acquisition due to change in cash and cash equivalents				21,800,000
Foreign currency exchange rate, translation								0.99	0.96		0.91	0.88	0.90
Purchase Price Allocation [Abstract]
Cash and cash equivalents					107,922,000	86,102,000
Accounts receivable, net					91,424,000	104,839,000	3,096,000		155,000	161,000
Materials and supplies					7,325,000	6,406,000			3,209,000	3,328,000
Prepaid expenses and other					14,815,000	15,146,000	2,319,000		97,000	101,000
Deferred income tax assets, net					49,074,000	49,074,000
Property and equipment					1,588,612,000	1,579,321,000	90,129,000		319,311,000	331,201,000
Goodwill					474,115,000	474,115,000
Intangible assets, net					446,327,000	451,100,000
Other Assets, net					116,000	116,000
Total assets					2,779,730,000	2,766,219,000	95,544,000		322,772,000	334,791,000
Accounts payable and accrued expenses					135,117,000	143,790,000	5,212,000		705,000	731,000
Long-term debt					12,010,000	12,158,000			1,741,000	1,806,000
Deferred income tax liabilities, net					551,856,000	542,210,000			307,000	318,000
Other long-term liabilities					19,618,000	20,754,000
Noncontrolling interest					5,525,000	5,525,000
Net assets					$ 2,055,604,000	$ (2,041,782,000)	$ 90,332,000		$ 320,019,000	331,936,000