Accounts Receivable Contract Balances (Details) - USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Contract Balances [Abstract]
Material Contract Asset	$ 0	$ 0
Material Contract Liability	$ 0	$ 0

Material amount of obligation to transfer good or service to customer for which consideration has been received or is receivable

No definition available.

Name:	gwr_MaterialContractWithCustomerLiability
Namespace Prefix:	gwr_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant