Emma Graham-Harrison in Budapest, Patrick Kingsley, Kevin Rawlinson, Warren Murray and agencies Saturday 5 September 2015 07.00 BST Last modified on Saturday 5 September 2015 11.57 BST * Share on Facebook * Share on Twitter * Share via Email * Share on Pinterest -- The first of thousands of refugees reached Austria early on Saturday morning after busloads left Hungary in a sudden exodus when the Austrian and German governments agreed to receive them. About 1,200 people had set off westwards through Hungary early on Friday evening, on foot and in cars, while many more remained at Budapest’s Keleti railway terminus. But then Hungarian authorities announced they would provide buses to take the refugees to the Austrian border and a rapid embarkation began in Budapest, where many were -- the border, with many more likely to follow during the day. Trains were running every 30 minutes to take people from the border town of Nickelsdorf to Vienna as well as a fleet of buses. — Emma Graham-Harrison (@_EmmaGH) September 5, 2015 First marchers already asleep after very long day RT@martinkaul Watch this, Orban! Austria says hello. Shame on you! pic.twitter.com/vgkqXSm4L5 -- accept the return of people who had sought asylum there before crossing into another country. But he indicated Austria’s willingness to take a greater share of the burden of accommodating the refugees. The Austrian Red Cross said it expected between 800 and 1,500 refugees to arrive at a reception centre at the country’s border with Hungary in the early hours of Saturday. “We are getting beds, shelter, food and hot drinks ready for them, and -- On board one of the buses to Austria, exhausted migrants veered between concern and relief. Many were nervous after Hungary tried to transport a trainload of migrants heading for Austria into a camp on Thursday. — Emma Graham-Harrison (@_EmmaGH) September 4, 2015 "Thank you! Thank you"! They shout as buses drive past pic.twitter.com/l3NfYmICap -- they got this far.” Some people cruised past in cars shouting abuse, calling them “Saddam Hussein” and “scum”. The Syrians were restrained in response. “People are people,” said Manoli, a 19-year-old electrical engineering student. “You can’t convince some of them.” Some of the Syrians remained to be convinced whether the promised bus would really take them to Austria. “Who’s organising it, the Hungarians?” asks one Syrian. “Forget it, I’m walking.” -- The country is the EU’s biggest recipient of refugees from the Middle East and economic migrants from south-eastern Europe. A record 104,460 asylum seekers entered the country in August, and the country expects about 800,000 refugees and migrants this year – four times last year’s level. In light of the influx, the government plans to introduce a -- Antonio Guterres, the head of the UN refugee agency, urged the EU to create a “mass relocation program … with the mandatory participation of all EU member states”. He said a “very preliminary estimate” would be for the creation of at least 200,000 places to be added across the bloc. EU leaders are mulling plans to create 120,000 more spaces beyond the 32,000 already agreed. __________________________________________________________________ More news -- * sport + football + cricket + rugby union + F1 + tennis + golf + cycling + boxing -- * privacy policy * cookie policy * securedrop © 2016 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.