Big Train was created by Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan, with the first series airing on BBC Two in 1998; Linehan was not involved in the second series, which aired in 2002.

The show starred Kevin Eldon, Mark Heap and Simon Pegg across both series, with Julia Davis, Amelia Bullmore and Nick Frost featuring in series one, and Rebecca Front, Tracy-Ann Oberman and Catherine Tate in series two.

Apart from Simon Pegg, all of the first-series regular cast members went on to star in Chris Morris's sketch comedy Jam (2000).

The pilot episode was directed by Chris Morris but was never broadcast in full, though some sketches from it were scattered throughout the series.

The show's title comes from the song 'Big Train', recorded by Max Greger and his Orchestra, which played during the credits; the writers liked the song enough to name the show after it. The track was later used in a commercial for Virgin Trains.

Both series were shot entirely on location, with series one filmed on 35mm film and series two on DigiBeta, and were later screened to a live audience so a laugh track could be recorded.

The recurring 'Stare-out Championship' sketch was based on a self-published comic book by Paul Hatcher and was animated by Chris Shepherd, featuring commentary by real BBC football commentator Barry Davies alongside actor Phil Cornwell.

Despite a limited audience, Big Train was well received by critics and won 'Best Broken Comedy Show' at the 1999 British Comedy Awards; The Guardian later praised it as a breeding ground for talent behind hits like Little Britain and That Mitchell and Webb Look.