Putting a new album into motion can be a journey for any band, but with four records already under its belt and the release of a fifth after a three-year break, Grammy award-winning rock group Train is back on track with “Save Me, San Francisco.”

“I think taking time away from each other really made the heart grow fonder,” lead singer Pat Monahan said of the band’s hiatus in a press release. “We realized how important we were to one another and taking a few years off helped us all really look at ourselves and what we could contribute to this band as opposed to what we weren’t getting from the band.”

Train rolls into Reno hauling more than a few years’ worth of hits, including “Drops of Jupiter,” “Calling All Angels” and “Meet Virginia.” The band will perform at 8 p.m. on Friday at the Grand Sierra Resort.

On this week’s Bill-board Hot 100, the band’s newest hit “Hey, Soul Sister” jumped from No. 7 to No. 3, according to www.billboard.com. The catchy single now tops “Drops of Jupiter,” which peaked at No. 5 in June 2001.

Also on Billboard.com, the “Save Me, San Francisco” album is No. 9 in the pop songs category, No. 1 in digital songs and No. 2 in adult pop songs, among its rankings on other charts.

Its newest album has special meaning for the band that formed in the Bay Area in 1994 and is therefore autobiographical for Train’s three members: Monahan, guitarist Jimmy Stafford and drummer Scott Underwood.

“We owe all of our gratitude to San Francisco because they embraced us back when, if they hadn’t have, no one would have,” Monahan explained. “Basically, this album is our way of paying tribute, giving thanks and also recognizing that we kind of need San Francisco to OK this band before anybody else does. Those were the best times of our lives — even though we didn’t know it — living in San Francisco and struggling to make a band work.”

Monahan adds the songs on “Save Me, San Francisco” are more of a point of view than a message.

“There are certain songs that, instead of there being an intention, there was almost a theme,” Monahan said. “I think a lot of the way I wrote on this wasn’t necessarily, ‘Hey, this reminds me of a situation I was in,’ but more how I see certain things being lived out in life, whether it’s from myself or someone else’s perspective.”

According to its blog on www.trainline.com, Monahan, Stafford and Underwood will have the opportunity to join other well-known rock singers in the late spring and summer. On May 26, they join with Bon Jovi for the opening of a stadium in New Jersey. In July, the band will begin an East Coast tour with John Mayer.

Train performs at 8 p.m. on Friday at the Grand Sierra Resort. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased at www.grandsierraresort.com, the resort’s box office or by calling (800) 648-3568.