Principles of Consolidation and Basis of Presentation	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2017
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Principles of Consolidation and Basis of Presentation	PRINCIPLES OF CONSOLIDATION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION: The interim consolidated financial statements presented herein include the accounts of Genesee & Wyoming Inc. and its subsidiaries. All significant intercompany transactions and accounts have been eliminated in consolidation. These interim consolidated financial statements have been prepared by the Company pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and are unaudited. They do not contain all disclosures which would be required in a full set of financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (U.S. GAAP). In the opinion of management, the unaudited financial statements for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016 are presented on a basis consistent with the audited financial statements and contain all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary to provide a fair statement of the results for the interim periods presented. The results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results of operations for the full year. The consolidated balance sheet data for 2016 was derived from the audited financial statements in the Company's 2016 Annual Report on Form 10-K, but does not include all disclosures required by U.S. GAAP. The results of operations of the foreign entities are maintained in the local currency of the respective subsidiary and translated into United States dollars at the applicable exchange rates for inclusion in the consolidated financial statements. As a result, any appreciation or depreciation of these currencies against the United States dollar will impact the Company's results of operations. The interim consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2016 included in the Company's 2016 Annual Report on Form 10-K. Certain reclassifications have been made to prior period balances to conform to the current year presentation, including changes to the statement of cash flows from the adoption of the Accounting Standards Update (ASU) noted below. In March 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2016-09, Compensation—Stock Compensation (Topic 718), Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting, which simplifies several aspects of the accounting for employee share-based compensation arrangements, including the accounting for income taxes, forfeitures, statutory tax withholding requirements, as well as classification of related amounts within the statement of cash flows. The Company elected to account for forfeitures as they occur and elected the retrospective transition method in regards to the classification of tax-related cash flows from stock-based payments. The amendment became effective for the Company on January 1, 2017 and did not have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017. When comparing the Company's results of operations from one reporting period to another, it is important to consider that the Company has historically experienced fluctuations in revenues and expenses due to acquisitions, changing economic conditions, fluctuations in commodity prices, competitive forces, changes in foreign currency exchange rates, rail network congestion, one-time freight moves, fuel price fluctuations, customer plant expansions and shutdowns, sales of property and equipment, derailments and weather-related conditions, such as hurricanes, cyclones, tornadoes, high winds, droughts, heavy snowfall, unseasonably hot or cold weather, freezing and flooding, among other factors. In periods when these events occur, the Company's results of operations are not easily comparable from one period to another. Finally, certain of the Company's railroads have commodity shipments that are sensitive to general economic conditions, global commodity prices and foreign exchange rates, such as steel products, iron ore, paper products, lumber and forest products and agricultural products, as well as product specific market conditions, such as the availability of lower priced alternative sources of power generation (coal) and energy commodity price differentials (crude oil and natural gas liquids) or congestion at deep seaports (intermodal). Other shipments are relatively less affected by economic conditions and are more closely affected by other factors, such as winter weather (salt) and seasonal rainfall (agricultural products). As a result of these and other factors, the Company's results of operations in any reporting period may not be directly comparable to the Company's results of operations in other reporting periods.

PRINCIPLES OF CONSOLIDATION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION:

The interim consolidated financial statements presented herein include the accounts of Genesee & Wyoming Inc. and its subsidiaries. All significant intercompany transactions and accounts have been eliminated in consolidation. These interim consolidated financial statements have been prepared by the Company pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and are unaudited. They do not contain all disclosures which would be required in a full set of financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (U.S. GAAP). In the opinion of management, the unaudited financial statements for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016 are presented on a basis consistent with the audited financial statements and contain all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary to provide a fair statement of the results for the interim periods presented. The results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results of operations for the full year. The consolidated balance sheet data for 2016 was derived from the audited financial statements in the Company's 2016 Annual Report on Form 10-K, but does not include all disclosures required by U.S. GAAP.

The results of operations of the foreign entities are maintained in the local currency of the respective subsidiary and translated into United States dollars at the applicable exchange rates for inclusion in the consolidated financial statements. As a result, any appreciation or depreciation of these currencies against the United States dollar will impact the Company's results of operations.

The interim consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2016 included in the Company's 2016 Annual Report on Form 10-K. Certain reclassifications have been made to prior period balances to conform to the current year presentation, including changes to the statement of cash flows from the adoption of the Accounting Standards Update (ASU) noted below.

In March 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2016-09, Compensation—Stock Compensation (Topic 718), Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting, which simplifies several aspects of the accounting for employee share-based compensation arrangements, including the accounting for income taxes, forfeitures, statutory tax withholding requirements, as well as classification of related amounts within the statement of cash flows. The Company elected to account for forfeitures as they occur and elected the retrospective transition method in regards to the classification of tax-related cash flows from stock-based payments. The amendment became effective for the Company on January 1, 2017 and did not have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017.

When comparing the Company's results of operations from one reporting period to another, it is important to consider that the Company has historically experienced fluctuations in revenues and expenses due to acquisitions, changing economic conditions, fluctuations in commodity prices, competitive forces, changes in foreign currency exchange rates, rail network congestion, one-time freight moves, fuel price fluctuations, customer plant expansions and shutdowns, sales of property and equipment, derailments and weather-related conditions, such as hurricanes, cyclones, tornadoes, high winds, droughts, heavy snowfall, unseasonably hot or cold weather, freezing and flooding, among other factors. In periods when these events occur, the Company's results of operations are not easily comparable from one period to another. Finally, certain of the Company's railroads have commodity shipments that are sensitive to general economic conditions, global commodity prices and foreign exchange rates, such as steel products, iron ore, paper products, lumber and forest products and agricultural products, as well as product specific market conditions, such as the availability of lower priced alternative sources of power generation (coal) and energy commodity price differentials (crude oil and natural gas liquids) or congestion at deep seaports (intermodal). Other shipments are relatively less affected by economic conditions and are more closely affected by other factors, such as winter weather (salt) and seasonal rainfall (agricultural products). As a result of these and other factors, the Company's results of operations in any reporting period may not be directly comparable to the Company's results of operations in other reporting periods.