Hundreds stopped from boarding trains in Budapest

Budapest’s Eastern Railway Terminus was closed for more than an hour on Tuesday morning after scores people attempted to enter the station to travel out of Hungary.

It’s thought as many as 1,000 refugees waved tickets, clapped, shouted and booed as they demanded for the station to be reopened as the entrance was blocked by police.

Government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs, when asked why the railway terminus was closed, said Hungary was trying to enforce EU law which requires anyone who wishes to travel within Europe to hold a valid passport and a Schengen visa.

The station closure comes after a record number of refugees arrived in Austria on Monday after travelling by train from Hungary.

Austrian authorities confirmed 3,650 people arrived in Vienna from Budapest, looking to travel on to Germany.

Many refugees are hoping to be able to claim asylum in Germany, and Hungary is the gateway to the EU for those crossing boarders by land from nations including Syria and Afghanistan.

Germany indicated last month that it would give Syrian refugees special status, which throws confusion over the EU’s Dublin regulation.

Under the regulation, migrants must file for asylum in the first EU country they arrive in. However, Germany insists it is sticking to the rules.

A spokesman for Germany’s interior ministry said: “The Dublin rules are still valid and we expect European member states to stick to them. Whoever comes to

Hungary must get registered there and go through the asylum procedure there.”

EU must ‘share refugees’

Around 140,000 asylum seekers have entered Hungary so far this year and Germany expects to receive 800,000 people, more than any other European country.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged other EU countries to accept a greater share of refugees as her government struggles to cope with the number of arrivals.

The flux of refugees entering the country has also caused growing tensions among anti-immigrant protesters and the far-right.

Shelters for asylum seekers in Heidenau, near Dresden have been torched and violent clashes have erupted during anti-refugee protests.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Mrs Merkel said: “Europe as a whole must move and its states must share the responsibility for refugees seeking asylum.”

She added that if Europe was not able to accept more refugees, the passport –free Schengen zone would be called into question.

Under the Schengen agreement, people are allowed to travel freely across the borders of 26 signatory countries including all EU states except Britain, Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia, plus non-EU members Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

She said: “If we don’t succeed in fairly distributing refugees then of course the Schengen question will be on the agenda for many.”

The UN says the ongoing conflict in Syria is a major factor behind the rise in refugee numbers and a record high of 107,500 people reached EU borders in July.