During World War II, Reich made train journeys between New York and Los Angeles to visit his parents, who had separated.

[3] The recorded speech that forms the basis for Different Trains is taken from interviews with people in the United States and Europe about the years leading up to, during, and immediately after World War II.

The technique also appears in WTC 9/11 (2011), a similar work dealing with human tragedy juxtaposed with everyday life and responses to it.

The world premiere was performed by the Kronos Quartet at the First Presbyterian Church in Miami, during the 1988 New Music America festival.

Its original recording, also performed by the Kronos Quartet, won the Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition in 1989.