Released as Johnson's debut solo single on a major label, the song became Johnson's most successful single, becoming a hit throughout the world. In the UK the song peaked at #4, spending a total of 11 weeks on the chart, whilst in America, the song became Johnson's only solo appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart, where "Love Train" peaked at #65.

The single was certified UK Silver by BPI in February 1989.

In a February 1989 interview with Johnson by Melody Maker, Johnson spoke of the song's lyrics. The author Steve Sutherland asked "Hasn't AIDS done it in for romance? Isn't writing songs about love and sex just moon and June stuff now, fantasies in the face of the horrific reality?" Johnson replied "Well, for me, 'Riding the Love Train' is the actual sexual act and I think it's realistic." Sutherland then stated ""Keep me up all night...", "Stoke it up..." - there's a lot of ooo-er innuendo in "Love Train" isn't there? Part of the thrill must have been to slip some darker purpose or more devious pleasure past the self-appointed censors of our morals, to, in some way, have polluted the mainstream." Johnson replied "If it doesn't work on two levels for me then I don't feel I've achieved the right balance in the song. If I feel that I haven't managed to write a populist tune and I haven't been able to slip some kind of twist into the lyric, then the song isn't good enough for me."

The song was recorded at Studio Guillaume Tell in Paris as well as the Townhouse & Advision Studios in London. The single's non-LP track "Murder in Paradise" was recorded in one day at Marcus Studios in London.

The track contains a guitar solo from Queen guitarist Brian May and backing vocals from both Don Snow and Lance Ellington.

The single was released on 7" vinyl, 12" vinyl, CD and cassette in 1989 across Europe, America and other parts of the world. The single was mainly released through MCA Records, whilst being released via UNI Records in America and Canada, and via WEA Records in Greece and Australia.

The single's b-side "Murder in Paradise" was exclusive to the single and featured on most versions of the single. The 7" vinyl release consisted of the album version of "Love Train" and the b-side, whilst the 12" vinyl featured the additional "Love Train (Ride The 'A' Train)" track which was essentially an extended remix of the song. On the 12" vinyl, the single version of "Love Train" was renamed to "Love Train (Stoke It Up) (7" Mix)". The CD and cassette versions of the single used the same track listing as the 12" vinyl, although the Japanese CD and American cassette used the same track listing as the 7" vinyl instead.

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