 South Central Florida Express crossing Moore Haven Swing Bridge over the Caloosahatchee Canal | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Clewiston, Florida |
| Reporting mark | SCXF |
| Locale | Southern Florida |
| Dates of operation | 1994– |
| Predecessor | Atlantic Coast Line Railroad CSX Transportation Florida East Coast Railway |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Length | 171 miles (275 km) |
The South Central Florida Express, Inc. (reporting mark SCXF) (originally known as the South Central Florida Railroad (reporting mark SCFE)) is a common carrier shortline railroad in southern Florida run by U.S. Sugar Corporation. Its trains operate from Sebring to Fort Pierce via Clewiston around the southern perimeter of Lake Okeechobee, and serves customers at 26 locations. With 171 miles (275 km) of track, the SCXF is the largest private agricultural railroad in the U.S.
The railroad began operation in 1994 on tracks previously owned and operated by CSX Transportation; in 1998, operation expanded on to tracks leased from the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC). In addition to the SCXF, U.S. Sugar has its own private tracks known as the U.S. Sugar Railroad (reporting mark USSC), which consists of multiple branch lines connected to SCXF tracks. In 2021, the SCXF began operating the Sugar Express (reporting mark CHOX), a heritage tourist passenger train featuring a steam locomotive pulling historic passenger cars.