Genesee & Wyoming (GWI) once relied on the salt of the earth -- hauling salt on a 14-mile railroad for one customer. Now, however, the company owns stakes in more than 115 freight railroads, including 103 short-line and regional freight railroads that operate over a total of more than 18,000 miles of track, including 15,600 miles of track owned and leased by the company and another 3,300 miles additional miles under contractual track access arrangements to more than 40 ports in North America, Europe, and Australia. Freight transported by GWI railroads includes coal, forest products, and pulp and paper.