UPDATE 1-Mexico launches coast-to-coast passenger and cargo railway

Mexico on Friday launched operations on a train line that crosses the country's narrowest point from the Gulf coast to the Pacific Ocean, kicking off a flagship government project as the administration enters its last months in office. The "Inter-Oceanic Train," which will carry both passengers and cargo on a three-hour trip from the coastal hub of Coatzacoalcos in Veracruz state to the Pacific port of Salina Cruz, is part of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's plan to bring investment to the country's poorer south. Officials have pitched the train line as a potential rival to the Panama Canal, which curbed operations this year due to a historic drought.