Cat and mouse

On a Wednesday night at the Vienna main station, a railjet on its way to Hamburg has been delayed for more than an hour as train officials and interpreters creep down each of the six full wagons. A group of about 10 police stand on the platform by the train doors.

Most of the passengers are refugees who have paid the 200 euros each to continue their journeys from Syria and other war-torn areas. They are crammed in, some packed eight or nine to a compartment designed for six. In one, a stroller takes up all available legroom around the four adults and three children.

Clearly not all on board have purchased seats. So the conductor painstakingly examines each ticket. A harsh exchange of words erupts and a few minutes later, six young men walk down the train steps, backpacks in hand.

“Nemsa no good!” One says, using the Arabic name for Austria. He's disgusted, he looks tired; he's certainly angry.

A few minutes later in the next car, the conductor jumps off red-faced. The doors on the other side of the tracks can open and some of the fare dodgers had hidden from him. He starts over with his search.

Not as orderly as you think

Although officials try to limit the flow, refugees pass through at will. They purchase train or bus tickets, hitch rides with volunteers or walk. Since the beginning of September, when Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel called for an end to the chaotic manner in which refugees pass through countries at will, EU countries have begun a more orderly transport process. But it's anything but orderly.

“What can you do when 5,000 people are at your border? You can't hold them back,” said Garry Foitik, commander of the Red Cross in Austria.

Asking them to wait to be registered isn't working either. Numbers are hard to come by. Officials speak of “about” and “around.” Best guess is, an estimated 125,000 men, women and children have entered Austria since September 5, when the swell began in earnest.

And although government officials have plans about where the refugees should be taken to next, the migrants themselves don't always agree.

“They want to take me to Linz for the night, but I want to go to Sweden,” said Abdul-Malik, 27.

Like Malik, who did not provide a last name, most of the people at the Vienna main station and at the west train station say their final destination is not Germany, but Sweden, Finland and The Netherlands. One had his eyes set on Iceland.

Germany become just another hurdle for refugees

With Germany limiting the flow, by halting train service and slowing down the number of refugees it processes at borders, the country has now become another hurdle many refugees must jump over to reach their goal.

Most have already survived boat rides, overnights in woods, potential mafia robbing and degrading conditions in camps in Serbia, Croatia and Hungary, where refugees finally are required to walk to the border to Austria.

Abdul-Malik reached Austria with his three friends from Syria in five days, and now they are eager to embark on the last leg of the trip – to The Netherlands. So they were disappointed when they discovered that Germany has suspended train services to and from Salzburg. But not put off.

The foursome bought tickets to Passau, just across the German border. From there, they were going to try to hop a train to Holland.

It appears that about as many refugees who enter the country leave it within about 24 hours. Only a relatively small number – slightly more than 5,000 – have asked for asylum. The rest appear to have left. How they do it, is up to the whims of the German government.

“It depends on how it works with Germany,” said Karin Temel, spokeswoman for the Salzburg police. Currently, it's working in only fits and starts.

Officially only about 2000 can cross, but more do

Usually, between three and five special trains per day leave Austria for Germany. Wednesday, as of late afternoon, only one had left, according to an official at the defense ministry, which helps coordinate logistics. Each train can hold between 400 and 500 people. Germany determines the number of trains and their destination.

So it's up to all but those 2,500 refugees who don't nab a spot on a special train, to play cat and mouse.

Back at the Vienna west train station, Hethm Jneed bought tickets for himself, his wife and three children to Hamburg for September 24, two days away from when we spoke. The family from Dara'a in Syria had arrived Tuesday in Austria. Because their children are young – 12, 10 and 6 – Jneed said he and his wife try to avoid walking too much. They take their time.

They were surprised that they did not have to pay for tickets to board a train that took them from Croatia to Austria via Hungary, Jneed said. But now that they have arrived in Vienna, they are stymied.

No trains to Munich until Oktoberfest ends

Germany has stopped rail service to and from Salzburg until Oct. 4, when Oktoberfest ends. The salesperson from Austrian rail told Jneed they had to figure it out alone how they would make it to Germany. So they chose Hamburg – a more costly alternative for the family of five – instead.

While his six-year old son plays dangerously near to the station's elevator, Jneed's 10-year old daughter buries her head in her father's side. She said she was tired; the trip has been exhausting.

The ticket office of the Western Train Station is full, but orderly. Most of the perhaps 30 people waiting in line appear to be refugees. Because of language barriers, it often takes a railway staffer a while to explain routes and costs. This causes further delays.

Hamburg now hot destination

Not far from Jneed and his family, a confused refugee carrying a worn ticket walks over to a volunteer translator. He wants to sell his ticket to Munich now that he's heard those trains aren't running any more. His new plan, he says, is to go to Sweden, so he now wants to purchase a ticket to Hamburg. From there, he hopes to hop a ferry. The hottest destination nowadays is that train to Hamburg, which is why, when the train tries to leave each night, it's packed.

Although Germany has stopped service in Salzburg, many refugees are brought there anyway. So, a lot of them walk the six kilometers to the border in Freilassing, Germany. There, they wait for hours, sometimes in the cold and rain, to pass through. Austrian officials say German officials allow only about 10 refugees per hour, creating unnecessary discomfort for the travelers.

And, despite fare dodgers being kicked off trains, like the ones to Hamburg - the train conductor kicked off 28 refugees - when he turned his back, a small group of four or five men nonchalantly slip back on. More than 90 minutes late, the train finally departed from the station. Meanwhile, on the other side of the platform, on Track 10, the next group of refugees began to gather for the next train - this time to Düsseldorf.