Carrying their children,bottles of water and few belongings, hundreds of mostly Syrian refugees boarded a train in southern Macedonia today to continue their journey towards Serbia and ultimately EU countries further north.

Around 500 migrants boarded the government-provided train, which runs twice a day to Serbia's border with Hungary, the last leg of the migrants' journey before they get into the EU's Schengen passport-free zone.

In their search for a better life free of conflict and political instability, almost all hope to reach the more affluent countries of northern and western Europe such as Germany and Sweden.

As the flow of people taking the Balkans route towards western Europe continues, the UN estimates that up to 3,000 migrants are expected to cross into Macedonia every day in the coming months, most of them refugees fleeing war, particularly from Syria.

In response to the flow of migrants, Hungary is building a 3.5-metre high fence along its 175-kmborder with Serbia, taking a hard line on what right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban says is a threat to European security, prosperity, and identity.