Date when the business acquisition agreement was executed, in CCYY-MM-DD format.

No definition available.

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- Definition

Costs incurred to effect a business combination which have been expensed during the period. Such costs could include business integration costs, systems integration and conversion costs, and severance and other employee-related costs.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The cash inflow associated with the acquisition of business during the period (for example, cash that was held by the acquired business).

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 12
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109223946&loc=d3e3179-108585

+ Details

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Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The cash outflow associated with the acquisition of business during the period. The cash portion only of the acquisition price.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 30
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (b)(1)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35744584&loc=d3e6927-128479

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 13
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109223946&loc=d3e3213-108585

+ Details

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- Definition

The cash outflow associated with the acquisition of a business, net of the cash acquired from the purchase.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 13
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109223946&loc=d3e3213-108585

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_PaymentsToAcquireBusinessesNetOfCashAcquired
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis=gwr_PentalverTransportLimitedMember
Namespace Prefix:
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- Details

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Changes in Operations U.K/Europe Pentalver (Details) $ in Thousands, £ in Millions			12 Months Ended
	May 03, 2017 GBP (£)	May 03, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)
Payments to Acquire Businesses, Net of Cash Acquired			$ 0	$ 107,586	$ 969,476
Pentalver Transport Limited [Member]
Business Acquisition, Date of Acquisition Agreement	May 03, 2017	May 03, 2017
Cash consideration	£ 97.8	$ 126,200
Payments to Acquire Businesses, Net of Cash Acquired	77.5	100,100
Cash Acquired from Acquisition	£ 20.2	$ 26,100
Business Combination, Integration Related Costs				3,900
Pentalver Transport Limited [Member] \| Other Expense [Member]
Business Combination, Integration Related Costs				3,800
Pentalver Transport Limited [Member] \| Labor and Benefits [Member]
Business Combination, Integration Related Costs				$ 100