Railcar Leasing and Management Services Group (Details Textual) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified					3 Months Ended			3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013		Dec. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2013 Leasing Group	Mar. 31, 2013 Leasing Group Wholly-owned subsidiaries	Mar. 31, 2013 Leasing Group TRIP Holdings	Jul. 31, 2011 Leasing Group TRIP Holdings	Mar. 31, 2013 Leasing Group Minimum	Mar. 31, 2013 Leasing Group Maximum
Railcar Leasing and Management Services Group (Textual) [Abstract]
Period of lease contracts with third parties (in years)								1 year	20 years
Net book value of equipment pledged as collateral for leasing group debt					$ 2,561.9	$ 1,110.1
Net book value of equipment securing capital lease obligations					49.2
Net book value of unpledged equipment					694.3
Face value of debt instrument							1,032.0
Period of railcars leased from the Trusts under operating leases (in years)					22 years
Assets	6,723.7	[1]	6,669.9		206.2
Cash					81.3
Railcars					92.0
Operating lease obligations guaranteed by Trinity Industries, Inc. and certain subsidiaries				$ 25.1

[1] (unaudited)