The film portrays the comic adventures of a group of summertime travellers. Produced at the height of the fascist era, Treno popolare was nonetheless free of propaganda, and featured the first film score by the legendary composer Nino Rota.

The film was a great success, De Sica and Lia Franca became stars and the song Parlami d'amore Mariù was a hit. Rarelly in Italian film history, it was filmed on real Milan locations, nowadays it is a sort of documentary how was Milan in the 30s. The film was remade in 1953 by Glauco Pellegrini.