Midnight Train features collaborations with India Arie, Soweto Gospel Choir, Sho Madjozi, and Black Motion, among others.

[2] Midnight Train comprises 13 tracks and features collaborations with India Arie, Soweto Gospel Choir, Sho Madjozi, Black Motion, Mortimer, Bensoul, Nviiri the Storyteller, Okello Max, Xeniah Manasseh, and Nairobi Horns Project.

[10] It became the most-viewed YouTube premiere by a local Kenyan artist, breaking the record previously held by Nyashinski's virtual album launch in May 2020.

[10] The concert featured additional performances from Bensoul, Nviiri the Storyteller, Okello Max, Lisah Oduor-Noah, and Xeniah Manasseh.

[10][11] Additionally, the band created personalized acoustic versions of well-known album singles and shared their individual life stories on the Engage Talks Series platform.

[12] In an interview with the Citizen TV news channel that same day, Sauti Sol revealed that the song was written by Bienaimé Baraza three years prior.

[7] The album's title track, "Midnight Train", was produced by Andre Harris; it is a mid-tempo record that samples Toto's 1982 hit "Africa".

[26] The nostalgic track "Rhumba Japani" is influenced by Congolese rumba; the song features vocals by Kaskazini, Bensoul, Nviiri, Xenia, Okello Max, and Nairobi Horns Project.

[27] The energetic track "Disco Matanga (Yambakhana)" was inspired by the Afro-house sound; it features vocals by Sho Madjozi and Black Motion.

[27][18] In a review for the website Hinya, Ruguru said the song "does not only own its languages, but marries the cultural energies in a confident and possessive fusion".

Brice Boorman, who writes for the online publication Chalked Up Reviews, awarded the album an A− rating, characterizing it as a "musical journey" and commending Sauti Sol for "overcoming their trials and tribulations with unity and perseverance".

"[26] Writing for The Lagos Review, Adeola Juwon called the album a "striking piece of work" and said Sauti Sol "pushed the envelope forward, establishing themselves as the best music group presently in Africa".

[14] Music in Africa's Lucy Ilado considered Midnight Train to be the band's magnum opus and said it is "a fantastic summary of their accomplishments so far, and charts a path towards an exciting new era for East African pop.

"[27] A writer for the website Hinya, who goes by the moniker Ruguru, said the album's "stellar moments are uplifting and energetic" and that Sauti Sol "excels the most when joyous and casual".

[25] Conversely, Ruguru felt the band is still too "shy to display the extent of vulnerability necessary for making their journey emotively enduring, for them, and for their listeners".