A super off peak single is £78 each way on Edinburgh-London, Anytime £166. This puts a cap on the cost which air travel doesn't have. Often will be significantly cheaper if you
There's no such thing as 'availability' on trains, you can buy a ticket from the ticket machine without booking in advance. You may not get a seat for the whole journey, but it's better IMO than not being able to board at all (like when flights sell out).
The problem with flying is if you want to do it very last minute it can cost an absolute fortune, whereas the train is capped by the walk on ticket prices. Plus with the train you don't need to book it if you don't want, and can literally buy a ticket minutes from departure with a known maximum price, so you don't need to worry about getting a refund or changing the booking if your plans change.
In some countries, high speed trains don't allow standing passengers.
I was caught out with this when I visited Toledo from Madrid. I bought a ticket for the next train to Toledo from a machine, which was fine. When I tried to return, there were no available tickets for several hours. I took a bus instead.
A seat reservation is also compulsory on the TGV in France, but not the ICE in Germany.
There's no such thing as 'availability' on trains, you can buy a ticket from the ticket machine without booking in advance. You may not get a seat for the whole journey, but it's better IMO than not being able to board at all (like when flights sell out).
The problem with flying is if you want to do it very last minute it can cost an absolute fortune, whereas the train is capped by the walk on ticket prices. Plus with the train you don't need to book it if you don't want, and can literally buy a ticket minutes from departure with a known maximum price, so you don't need to worry about getting a refund or changing the booking if your plans change.