When I joined via Freightliner Heavy Haul as a trainee driver in 2014 training was at Crewe and we stayed in a hotel for the full 10 weeks paid for by Freightliner. It worked out as follows:
Company induction and PTS Week 1
Rules Weeks 2 - 8 including one week of front end turns
Traction Weeks 9&10
After this it was back to your depot where you start your driving hours following the shift pattern of whoever is your DI. The hours only count when the wheels are turning so if you are sat on a possession unless the loco is moving it won't count, harsh, but that's the way it is.
Once you have completed your hours you will go out and learn your core routes, but bear in mind that you will probably be driving over them as you do your hours and you really do start to learn them then. Once you sign one vote route and drive your first productive train that's when you will go onto full money.
You start on a training wage and that increases after Traction the amounts already written in an earlier post are about right. It took me around 9 months from the day I started to driving my first train on my own. However, I was very lucky and had three DI's to myself so was able to rattle my hours off quick. A percentage of the hours have to be completed in the dark I think around 75 hours out of 275.
Lastly the most important thing is to enjoy it, all those who have been successful you are in an incredibly small and very fortunate group that many will never get into, embrace it, work hard and listen to your instructors they know what they are talking about and really want you to succeed. There really isn't another job quite like it