The line remains in service today and is now part of the Central Florida Rail Corridor in the Orlando metro area.

The South Florida first ran on November 11, 1880, running the short distance between Sanford and Orlando.

The South Florida's original passenger depot in Tampa was located on the east side of the intersection of Ashley and Madison Streets.

[1] The Tampa end opened on December 10, 1883, and on January 25, 1884 service began over the full line, built to 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge.

In 2011, CSX sold the line from Poinciana north (as well as part of the former Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railway) to the Florida Department of Transportation.

SunRail began operation on May 1, 2014, from Sand Lake Road north to DeBary and extended service south to Poinciana on July 30, 2018.

SunRail also revived passenger service to the South Florida Railroad's historic Church Street Station in Downtown Orlando.

Since the sale, CSX only operates local freight on the Central Florida Rail Corridor.

Freight service on the CFRC is based out of Taft Yard in Pine Castle, which CSX still owns.

This branch began at a junction with the Florida Southern at Pemberton Ferry (known today as Croom), running south-southeast across the mainline at Lakeland to Bartow.

South of Bartow, the Florida Southern continued to Punta Gorda, using trackage rights over the branch.

Once the Bone Valley phosphate district was discovered near Lakeland, pressure increased to standard-gauge the line, and that was done on August 7, 1891.

The Fort Fraser Trail today runs along the abandoned right-of way from Eaton Park south to Bartow.

In the Atlantic Coast Line era, many of their passenger trains to Fort Myers and Naples would run on the Bartow Branch.