Crossing the border: Desperate migrants take new routes to seek better future 

Habib, 22, from Algeria sits in an abandoned railway wagon used as a shelter by stranded migrants in the northern city of Thessaloniki, Greece. Habib arrived at the Greek island of Rhodes three months ago and he reached the mainland after hiding in a truck on a passenger ferry to Athens. (Alexandros Avramidis /Reuters)

Updated on: Apr 21, 2017 1:11 PM IST

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Habib, 22, from Algeria sits in an abandoned railway wagon used as a shelter by stranded migrants in the northern city of Thessaloniki, Greece. Habib arrived at the Greek island of Rhodes three months ago and he reached the mainland after hiding in a truck on a passenger ferry to Athens. (Alexandros Avramidis /Reuters)

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A migrant jumps on a freight train in an effort to cross the Greek-Macedonian border without documents, in the northern city of Thessaloniki, Greece. (Alexandros Avramidis /Reuters)

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In the abandoned trains where the migrants are living, conditions are grim, without electricity or running water. For food, they queue up at a nearby camp in a former toilet paper factory. (Alexandros Avramidis /Reuters)

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Algerian migrants are seen on a freight train before its departure, in an effort to cross the Greek-Macedonian border. (Alexandros Avramidis /Reuters)

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Algerian migrants rest in an abandoned railway wagon used as a shelter by stranded migrants. (Alexandros Avramidis /Reuters)

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An Algerian migrant smokes inside an abandoned railway wagon. (Alexandros Avramidis /Reuters)

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Habib (L), 22, from Algeria and a fellow migrant run to jump on a freight train in an effort to cross the border. (Alexandros Avramidis /Reuters)

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An Algerian migrant shows a picture on his mobile of fellow migrants walking in Macedonia. According to the migrant, his mobile phone was broken by Macedonian police when he was arrested and returned to Greece. (Alexandros Avramidis /Reuters)

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Habib, 22, from Algeria is seen with his friends on an abandoned railway wagon used as a shelter.On April 6, Habib and his friends jumped on a freight train in an effort to cross the Greek-Macedonian border without documents. They were arrested in Macedonia and returned back to Greece. (Alexandros Avramidis /Reuters)

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More than a million refugees and migrants arrived in Europe in 2015, landing in Greece from Turkey and then streaming through the Balkans, heading north to Germany or Austria.But that route shut in March last year following an agreement between the EU and Turkey, stranding about 60,000 people in makeshift and formal camps across Greece. (Alexandros Avramidis /Reuters)

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An Algerian migrant carries food in a plastic bag outside an abandoned railway wagon used as a shelter by stranded migrants . (Alexandros Avramidis /Reuters)

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From there, they monitor freight trains heading to central Europe. Whenever trains stop in the station, the migrants try to sneak into their compartments or jump in between wagons. (Alexandros Avramidis /Reuters)

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People come and go, leaving piles of garbage behind. Some carriages burned down in accidents when migrants tried to warm up in freezing winter temperatures. (Alexandros Avramidis /Reuters)

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Mohamed Khaleuf from Morocco, stands next to a freight train before it departs.If they’re lucky, they make it across unnoticed. Some said they plan to get off before the border and continue on foot. Often, they are arrested by Macedonian guards and sent back to Greece. (Alexandros Avramidis /Reuters)