Migrant Crisis: Hungary train stand-off enters second day

Migrant Crisis: As per the news reports, a tense stand-off of migrant train in Hungary continued into the second day on Friday.

International services had been suspended at Budapest’s Keleti railway station but hundreds crammed on to the first train on Thursday, hoping it would take them to the Austrian border.

Migrant Crisis: Hungary train stand-off enters second day
Migrant Crisis: Hungary train stand-off enters second day

Instead, the train stopped at the town of Bicske about 40km west of Budapest, which hosts a major refugee camp. Police then lined the platforms.

According to reports, some people at first left the train but then forced their way back on when they realised where the authorities wanted them to go.

They feared that registering at the camp will make it harder for them to seek asylum in Germany and other countries.

The migrants slept overnight on the train at Bicske. Many people also continued to camp out at Keleti station, and elsewhere in Budapest.

Hungarian MPs face a key vote later in the day whether to tighten border controls as migrants try to pass through to Germany, their preferred destination. They will also vote on creating new holding camps for migrants, and on whether the situation constitutes a state of emergency.

Three other European meetings on Friday will discuss the migrant crisis.

Members of the European Commission are also flying to the Greek island of Kos to examine the difficulties caused by the large numbers of refugees and migrants landing there.