Welsh Secretary Peter Hain said he is unimpressed with the way the rail industry has responded to his call for a solution to the travel trouble predicted for next month's Wales versus England rugby international.

Mr Hain met the chairman of the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) for talks on Wednesday to see if the SRA would force rail companies to lay on extra trains after the 22 February Six Nations match.

I want to see a "can do" attitude to this from the rail companies Welsh Secretary Peter Hain

But he emerged without a fix to the problem which is set to see thousands of rugby fans - many of them from England - finding their way out of Cardiff by road.

He has called the row - in which rail operator Wales and Borders Trains has cancelled all its services running east of Newport towards London and the west of England on the evening - a "poor advertisement for Wales".

Wales and Borders Trains has said it fears that fans will be crushed when 28,000 people try to catch trains home after the game at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

But speaking after his meeting with Richard Bowker, chair of the SRA, Mr Hain said: "I'm not impressed with answers I've had.

"I want to see a "can do" attitude to this from the rail companies and I'm sure that a solution could be found, if not necessarily for the end of February, then, for the longer term."

Peter Hain wants a reversal of Wales and Borders Trains' decision

Mr Hain said he will now wait to hear of the SRA's further investigations and assessment of the situation but had previously called the situation "unacceptable".

The rugby game, which is being broadcast live by the BBC, has been scheduled for a late 1730 GMT kick-off by the Six Nations organising committee.

The later match time was decided on to avoid a clash with the Italy v Ireland game which is due to be televised earlier in the day.

Mr Hain had said earlier: "I understand that this issue will not be a one-off.

"The contractual arrangement the BBC has to cover matches means that 1730 GMT kick-offs will be repeated.

'Crowd safety'

"Cardiff is rapidly reaching towards becoming a world-class city and it is unacceptable that rail companies cannot provide a world-class service or even a half-decent service that runs after 1930 GMT.

"It's a very poor advertisement for Wales and I want to this problem cracked."

He added said forcing more fans to travel by road would create additional problems.

Managing Director of Wales and Borders Trains, Chris Gibb, said: "Maintaining a positive image of Wales, and of Cardiff as its capital, is extremely important, however the safety of our customers will always come first.

"The rail industry has no choice but to work with the resources it has available, and an independent risk assessment has shown that 5.30pm kick-off stretches the operation at Cardiff Central beyond a safe limit which is the reason this tough decision has been taken.

'Regular shuttle'

"Six Nations games generate more rail passengers than any other event and it is the responsibility of all parties involved to ensure that fans can travel to these events easily and safely.

"We will be providing an intense train service from Cardiff to Swansea and beyond, on the Valley Lines network, services to Cwmbran, Pontypool, Abergavenny, Hereford and stations to Crewe.

"There will also be a regular shuttle to Newport until late into the night.

"We will also provide additional services on the Sunday for fans who decide to stay overnight in south Wales."

The Millennium Stadium Events Liaison Group has urged fans to travel by coach because of the uncertainty over the train services.