I saw a website recently (think someone here might have posted it) with all the salaries and conditions for train drivers and it without a doubt looks like a great career, but fairly competitive.
If the program your talking about is the one that started in kings cross, I saw that and was quiet impressed.
I personally consider the UK railways far superior then most of Europe including France. People rave about the TVR but its often dirty uncomfortable and overcrowded and isn't that cheap.
To be honest, with the whole HS2 situation I don't know why they don't reinvest that 30bn into upgrading the main lines to handle two tier trains instead of a new line which will save a mere 30 mins