Indian Railways

This may become a catalyst for better and more environmentally friendly sanitation in the country. Puff, who is a blowfish expanding into an air balloon. Indian Railways is currently considering Eco-san toilets for its trains. incident involving Mrs. Due to the number of users, the toilets are often in bad condition. Stephen Hillenburg announced publicly that SpongeBob and Patrick are not gay. This causes an accumulation of human waste on the tracks in places where the train stands still, such as in large stations. It has been incorrectly reported that James Dobson, a leading figure among many conservative Christians, believes SpongeBob is homosexual or promotes a homosexual lifestyle.

a hole in the floor), without any effluent storage tanks on board. Many fans have also pointed to the fact that many more characters besides SpongeBob were featured in the commercial, and SpongeBob's appearance is only a few seconds long. The toilets on Indian Railways trains are of the direct-vent type (i.e. A spokesman for the foundation suggests that anyone who thought the video promoted homosexuality "needs to visit their doctor and get their medication increased."[2]. Due to the size of the network and low speeds, journeys can last many days. The video has sparked controversy because some conservative Christian groups believe that the We Are Family Foundation was using it to promote the normalization of homosexuality in American schools. Sanitation is a significant problem on Indian Railways. More recently, SpongeBob was featured in the pro-tolerance "We Are Family" commercial, along with many other cartoon characters.

In rural areas, cattle and other animals may stray onto the tracks, posing a much more serious safety hazard to fast-moving trains. Puff, SpongeBob's parents, Pearl/Octavious Rex, Plankton/Mama Krabs, Gary/Snellie, Plankton/Karen, Patrick/Mindy, and in many early episodes there is a slight romantic relationship between SpongeBob and Sandy, automatically disproving any rumors that Spongebob could ever be homosexual); aside from the "Rock-a-Bye Bivalve" controversy there are arguably no gay relationships at all. Most railway land in India is not fenced or restricted in any way, allowing free trespass. Krabs/Mrs. Reasons given are that suitable bridges or level crossings over the tracks are non-existent or inconveniently placed. Mr. In many places, pedestrians, vehicles or cyclists may cut across the tracks to save time, causing a safety hazard to the railways. There are actually many heterosexual relationships on the show (eg.

This therefore imposes a strong constraint on the pace at which Indian railways can expand or modernize itself. But some fans argue that SpongeBob has a human-like sexual identity, because sometimes he will panic when he's shown not wearing underwear, as if he were a human, and run back to his pineapple and hide. As a public utility, the government subsidises the prices as increasing ticket prices often translates into widespread discontent and most often political damage. In support of this statement, in early episodes it's revealed that SpongeBob reproduces by budding and making baby sponges come out of his holes; this is not so different than what real sponges do. Railway ticket prices are particularly affected by the fact that India in general is a price-sensitive market. Stephen Hillenburg, creator of the show, states SpongeBob to be asexual, as he is a sponge. During this season the reserved compartments are swamped by many without a reserved ticket. In three episodes, SpongeBob is portrayed for brief moments in women's clothing, although it should be noted that other cartoon and slapstick characters, such as Bugs Bunny, have done the same; in this regard, SpongeBob falls squarely in the pantheon of characters who have actively gone above the limits and endured controversy as a result.

During the holiday seasons, reserved tickets have to be booked two months in advance, to avoid a generally static waiting list. This episode was never aired in the Philippines India, Israel, and Italy because the people there may have thought the episode resembles homosexuality. Overcrowding is a big issue, with the General compartment often being packed beyond capacity. In the 2002 episode "Rock-a-Bye Bivalve", SpongeBob and Patrick adopt a baby scallop, furthering the rumours because of the implications that the two made major life decisions together, as a couple would. Aging colonial-era bridges and century-old tracks also require regular maintenance and upgrading. Around the beginning of the third season, SpongeBob and Patrick were frequently depicted holding hands. Contributing to the Railways' problems are the antiquated communication, safety equipment and signalling systems. Notably, SpongeBob's cheerful attitude and his close friendship with Patrick led some viewers to the conclusion that the sponge was the next gay icon.

The Konkan Railway route suffers from landslides in the monsoon season, which has caused fatal accidents in the recent past. However, SpongeBob's popularity has made the controversy surrounding it more noticeable and of a larger scale. Human error is the primary cause (83%)^[10] blamed for mishaps. Many of its cartoons, including Ren & Stimpy, Rocko's Modern Life, The Angry Beavers, Invader Zim, and The Fairly OddParents, have sparked controversy in one way or another. Indian Railways have accepted that given the size of operations, eliminating accidents is a chimerical idea, and at best they can only minimise the accident rate. This is not new for Nickelodeon. Although accidents such as derailment and collisions are less common in recent times, many are run over by trains, especially in crowded areas. Despite the show's popularity, SpongeBob has had to endure much controversy.

The main problem plaguing the Railways is the high accident rate which stands at about three hundred^[9] a year. The song can also be found on The Yellow Album. In a cost cutting move, the Railways plans to minimise unwanted cessations, and scrap unpopular routes. A choral version was recorded for the SpongeBob Christmas special where the last words, "SquarePants", were replaced by "Christmas special". A new concern faced by Indian Railways is competition from low cost airlines that has recently made its début in India. A cover of the song by Avril Lavigne can be found on The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (soundtrack). In the first two months of India's fiscal year 2005-06 (April and May), the Railways registered a 10% growth in passenger traffic, and a 12% in passenger earnings^[8]. It is sung by Patchy the Pirate, voiced by Pat Pinney, and can be found on the soundtrack, SpongeBob SquarePants: Original Theme Highlights.

The overall passenger traffic grew 7.5% in the previous year. The theme song, primarily based on the sea shanty, "Blow the Man Down", is the principal song used in the series. Around 20% of the passenger revenue is earned from the upper class segments of the passenger segment (the air-conditioned classes). SpongeBob has been picked up for a fifth season on Nickelodeon, with potential for a sixth season; new episodes will air from 2006 to 2007. The freight growth was pegged at 7.67% raised from 580 to 600 million tonnes^[7]. Regarding the new order of SpongeBob cartoons, Cyma Zarghami, Nickelodeon’s chief executive, responded, “It just doesn’t feel like we should stop yet.” This is quite relevant, as recently the show has seen some of it's highest ratings since it's peak years in the early 2000's, and, while some more observant fans are skeptical, has returned without an excessive amount of fans believing it has "jumped the shark". (US$91.8 million). The episodes are projected to have finished airing sometime in 2007.

Fund balances was at a figure of Rs. 6,963 cr (US$1,600 million) while the working expenses rose by Rs. 400 cr. The Star Online eCentral reports that Nickelodeon has ordered 20 more episodes of SpongeBob Squarepants, bringing the show’s total amount of episodes to 100. Freight earnings increased from Rs. 28,745 cr (US$6,600 million) to Rs. 30,450 cr (US$7,000 million) from the previous year. Many fans are outraged, but it should be noted that the change in format is at Nickelodeon's insistence, rather than the SpongeBob creators. 466,350 million or US$10,700 million), Rs. 1,838 cr (US$421.8 million) higher than budget estimates. This practice began with the airing of the episode "Selling Out" on September 23; its companion episode, "Funny Pants," premiered the following week on September 30 (Nickelodeon did air "Selling Out" and "Funny Pants" together as a rerun on October 9, 2005). As per the 2005 budget, Indian Railways earned Rs. 46,635 crores^[6] (Rs. For the first time in SpongeBob's run, Nickelodeon began airing 11-minute segments of new episodes separately, spread over two weeks.

The formation of policy and overall control of the railways is vested in Railway Board comprising the Chairman, Financial Commissioner and other functional Members for Traffic, Engineering, Mechanical, Electrical and Staff matters. After airing three new episodes on Fridays from May 6 to May 20, Nickelodeon did not premiere any new SpongeBob episodes until September 2005. This document serves as a balance sheet of operations of the Railways during the previous year and lists out plans for expansion for the current year. The first new episode of Season 4, "Fear Of A Krabby Patty/Shell Of A Man", was a huge hit with many fans who had long been bored with the show and many more faithful ones who have been waiting for new episodes for years. Though the Railway Budget is separately presented to the Parliament, the figures relating to the receipt and expenditure of the Railways are also shown in the General Budget, since they are a part and parcel of the total receipts and expenditure of the Government of India. So far, four new episodes and nine segments of new episodes have aired, with more upcoming including a sixth Mermaidman & Barnacle Boy. As per the Separation Convention, 1924, the Railway Budget is presented to the Parliament by the Union Railway Minister, two days prior to the General Budget, usually around 26 February. The new episodes began airing on May 6, 2005.

The dividends from the railways accrue to the state, and the subsidies and losses are also borne by it. TV advertisements for SpongeBob's fourth season first aired publicly during the 2005 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. Indian Railways are subject to the same audit control as other government revenue and expenditures. See Controversy for more information.. The comments of the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) are non binding. Ironically, that movie would also be considered Rugrats' jump the shark moment by many fans.). The budget needs to be passed by a simple majority in the Lok Sabha (India's Lower House). (It was around this time that the animated series which it is based on, Rugrats, was at the height of its popularity.

The Parliament discusses the policies and allocations proposed in the budget. The Rugrats Movie, on the other hand, earned over $100,000,000 in the United States. The Railway Budget deals with the induction and improvement of existing trains and routes, the modernisation and most importantly the tariff for freight and passenger travel. As its movie only achieved over $85,000,000 in revenue in the United States, perhaps because of the shows popularity showing something of a decline at the time of it's release. Some of these PSU's are:. The president of Nickelodeon announced that the show would continue without Hillenburg featuring Paul Tibbitt as supervising producer and Derek Drymon taking over Hillenburg's spot as executive producer. Apart from these zones, a number of Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) are under the administrative control of the ministry of railways. The show continued to gain high approval ratings despite a lack of new episodes, and many fans feared they would never air.

Further down the hierarchy tree are the Station Masters who control individual stations and the train movement through the track territory under their stations' administration. Following this, the movie was released in November of that year. The divisional officers of engineering, mechanical, electrical, signal & telecommunication, accounts, personnel, operating, commercial and safety branches report to the respective Divisional Manager and are in charge of operation and maintenance of assets. SpongeBob Meets The Strangler/Pranks A Lot" was the last episode of this season, and aired in October of 2004. The zones are further divided into divisions under the control of Divisional Railway Managers (DRM). Fans were devastated and online petitions were widely distributed to convince Nickelodeon to produce more episodes by showing continuing fan support. Each of the sixteen zones is headed by a General Manager (GM) who reports directly to the Railway Board. Due to rumors of a movie, there was high speculation that the show would be cancelled and that 2003/2004 would feature the last season of new episodes.

Reporting to them is the Railway Board, which has six members and a chairman. The year also saw another more low-budget show with popularity (The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius), but things changed late in the year. Rathwa. The beginning of the third season produced many classic episodes and focused on the same style and animation concepts. Velu and Naranbhai J. 2002 also saw a bright side, as the first part of that year saw SpongeBob at its peak. The ministry is currently headed by Lalu Prasad Yadav, the Union Minister for Railways and assisted by two junior Ministers of State for Railways, R. SpongeBob, however, was the leader of all these shows and had by this time started its now famous merchandise line.

Indian Railways is a publicly-owned company controlled by the Government of India, via the Ministry of Railways. That same year, Invader Zim aired, created by comic book writer Jhonen Vasquez; it had a dark but silly sense of humor (similar to Vasquez's other comic books) that managed to attract a very loyal cult following consisting more of teens and adults than young children (though also containing a moderate amount of preteens). The fastest speed attained by any train is 184 km/h (114 mph) in 2000 during test runs. It focused on a sense of humor similar to SpongeBob’s, only more realistic, slightly crazier (and more suggestive to "adult" topics), and with more pop culture references; this show managed to become a hit as well and currently ranks behind SpongeBob as Nick's second most popular show. The Bhopal Shatabdi Express is the fastest train in India today having a maximum speed of 140 km/h (87 mph) on the Faridabad-Agra section. In 2001, The Fairly OddParents aired from the then-small Frederator company. The Trivandrum Rajdhani travels non-stop between Vadodara and Kota, covering a distance of 528 km (328 miles) in about 6.5 hours, and has the longest continuous run on Indian Railways today. By then it was clear to the world that SpongeBob had opened the door to many other cartoons to use more "adult" senses of humor and come from smaller companies.

It covers 3,745 km (2,327 miles) in about 74 hours and 55 minutes. The show began its second season in 2000 with more high-quality animation and even more popular episodes. The Himsagar Express, between Kanyakumari and Jammu Tawi, has the longest run in terms of distance and time on Indian Railways network. Many people attribute the "Fall Of Rugrats/Klasky-Csupo/Rise Of Low-Budget Cartoons" to SpongeBob. The shortest named station is Ib and the longest is Sri Venkatanarasimharajuvariapeta. SpongeBob's signature voice (provided by Kenny) and humorous style was enjoyable to both younger and older audiences. There are a total of 6,853 stations; 300 yards; 2,300 goods-sheds; 700 repair shops and a total workforce of 1.54 million^[5]. After about a year, it surpassed Rugrats as Nick's most highly rated show.

The Ghum station along the Toy Train route is the second highest railway station in the world to be reached by a steam locomotive.^[4] Indian Railways operates 7,566 locomotives; 37,840 Coaching vehicles and 222,147 freight wagons. Although it struggled in its early days, its ratings flew up. Kharagpur railway station also has the distinction of being the world's longest railway platform at 1072 m (3,517 ft). SpongeBob, with its generally lower-class animation and humor style more rooted in clever word-play and culture-references unlike the potty humor that made Rugrats so popular, was expected to be just another one of those shows. Among the famous locomotives, the Fairy Queen is the oldest running locomotive in the world today, though the distinction of the oldest surviving locomotive belongs to John Bull. At this time, Rugrats was at the height of its popularity and had already outlived dozens of other lower-budget cartoons. The train travels around the country, staying at a location for about two months before moving elsewhere. In 1999, SpongeBob aired its first episode, "Help Wanted/Reef Blower/Tea at the Treedome", after the 1999 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards.

This train has a compartment that serves as an operating room, a second one which serves as a storeroom and an additional two that serve as a patient ward. Krabs' line, "SpongeBoy, me Bob!." The Krusty Krab was originally spelled with the letter C rather than K, but Stephen Hillenburg thought K's were funnier. The Lifeline Express is a special train popularly known as the "Hospital-on-Wheels" which provides healthcare to the rural areas. Hillenburg later chose the alternative name "SpongeBob." The original name was once referenced in the show by Mr. It was reopened when the hostilities subsided in 2004. The name "SpongeBoy" did not make it into the show since the name was already officially trademarked by Bob Burden, creator of Flaming Carrot. However, hostilities between the two nations in 2001 saw the line being closed. SpongeBob used to be named SpongeBoy, and used to wear a red hat with a green base and a white business shirt with a tie.

The Samjhauta Express was a train that ran between India and Pakistan. During production of the show, Hillenburg provided a concept of short comics with the same style of the show, but the characters looked different. The Maharashtra government did try and introduce the Deccan Odyssey along the Konkan route, but it did not enjoy the same success as the Palace on Wheels. Another crew member with previous Nickelodeon cartoon experience was former Angry Beavers story editor Merriwether Williams, who worked on that show for its first few seasons and switched to SpongeBob in July 1999. The Palace on Wheels is a specially designed train, lugged by a steam engine, for promoting tourism in Rajasthan. Drymon had worked with Hillenburg on Rocko's Modern Life as well, as did many SpongeBob crew members, including writer Tim Hill and voice actors Tom Kenny and Doug Lawrence. The Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus) railway station in Mumbai is another World Heritage Site operated by Indian Railways. He teamed up with creative director Derek Drymon, who had worked on shows such as Doug, Action League Now!, and Hey Arnold!.

The Nilgiri Mountain Railway, in the Nilgiri Hills in southern India, is also classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.^[3] It is also the only cog railway in India. When Rocko's Modern Life was cancelled in 1997, Hillenburg began working on SpongeBob (although some sketches trace back to 1996). The highest station in this route is Ghum. One of the producers was Stephen Hillenburg, a cartoon worker/marine biologist who loved both his careers. The route starts at Siliguri in the plains in West Bengal and traverses tea gardens en route to Darjeeling, a hill station at an elevation of 2,134 metres (7,000 ft). SpongeBob's history can be traced back to 1993 when Rocko's Modern Life first aired. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a narrow gauge train with a steam locomotive is classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. LEGO recieved license to produce SpongeBob SquarePants building sets, beginning to sell them in August 2006.

The highest speed notched up for a freight train is 100 km/h (62 mph) for a 4,700 tonne load. There were contests tied in with the movie where you could win SpongeBob-related items or a trip to the Cayman Islands. Recently Indian Railways introduced the special 'Container Rajdhani' or CONRAJ, for high priority freight. In October 2004, a NASCAR Busch Series race was named The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie 300, presented by Lowe's and broadcast on TNT featuring Jimmie Johnson's #48 Lowe's stock car and Kyle Busch's #5 stock car painted for the race with the SpongeBob Movie paint schemes. The "Green Van" is a special type used to transport fresh food and vegetables. Events in the past with the SpongeBob SquarePants theme include an exhibit at Underwater Adventures Aquarium in the Mall of America called SeaCrits of Bikini Bottom during the summer of 2003. Refrigerated vans are also available in many areas. More recently, a tie-in beverage for 7-Eleven convenience stores has been created, a pineapple-flavored Slurpee.

Trucks that carry goods to a particular location are hauled back by trains saving the trucking company on unnecessary fuel expenses. SpongeBob was also featured on VH1's I Love the 90s: Part Deux: 1999 as part of a commentary by Michael Ian Black. Indian Railways also transports vehicles over long distances. Plankton, a character from the show. Most of its freight earnings come from such rakes carrying bulk goods such as coal, cement, foodgrains and iron ore. The ransom note was signed by someone in Minneapolis, Minnesota claiming to be Sheldon J. Since the 1990s, Indian Railways has switched from small consignments to larger container movement which has helped speed up its operations. There have been kids meal tie-ins at Wendy's for SpongeBob's House Party Special in 2002 and at Burger King restaurants in 2001, 2003, and for the movie in 2004; in 2004, thieves stole nine-foot-high by nine-foot-wide SpongeBob inflatables from the Burger King restaurant franchises, demanding Krabby Patties as ransom.

However, competition from trucks which offer cheaper rates has seen a decrease in freight traffic in recent years. The show also spawned a large and popular merchandise line at Hot Topic, Claire's, RadioShack, Target, Wal-Mart, and Toys "R" Us stores. Indian Railways makes 70% of its revenues and most of its profits from the freight sector, and uses these profits to cross-subsidise the loss-making passenger sector. Merchandise based on the show ranges from Kraft SuperMac & Cheese, Kellogg's cereal, and video games to boxer shorts, pajamas, and t-shirts. Many important freight stops have dedicated platforms and independent lines. However, in a more typical Nickelodeon-style move, Avril Lavigne did the movie theme song. Ports and major urban areas have their own dedicated freight lines and yards. Non-mainstream alternative rock bands such as Wilco, The Shins, The Flaming Lips and perhaps most notably Ween (who have contributed two original songs to the show and their 1997 classic "Ocean Man" to the movie soundtrack), as well as metal bands Pantera, Motorhead, and Twisted Sister have made appearances on the show and movies soundtracks, and classic thrash metal group Metallica even released a T-shirt featuring cartoon versions of them playing live with Spongebob & Patrick [1] (leading to as of yet unproven rumors that the band will appear on a future episode of the show).

IR carries a huge variety of goods ranging from mineral ores, agricultural produce, petroleum, milk and vehicles. Unlike its mainstream-culture-promoting network, SpongeBob features many semi-obscure musicians who contribute to its soundtrack. The Kolkata metro has the administrative status of a zonal railway, though it does not come under the seventeen railway zones. Fairly Oddparents), SpongeBob chooses to go for a more teen/adult friendly formula that was used in highly sucessful older Nick cartoons such as Ren and Stimpy and Rocko's Modern Life, non-human young adults in crazy, unrealistic situations, with minimal pop culture references. It has three lines, one managed by the WR and other two managed by the Central Railway. While many newer cartoons revolve around pre-adolescents with strange lives and feature massive amounts of pop-culture references (eg. Mumbai's rail transport is jointly managed by the Central and Western Railways. The show also, unlike many current Nickelodeon cartoons, is not "mainstream" or "cliche".

A standard coach is designed to accommodate 96 sitting passengers, but the actual number of passengers can easily double or triple with standees during rush hour. Its appeal to older audiences, as mentioned earlier, can be contributed to the show's crazy but witty and at times even sophisticated humor. The rakes in Mumbai run on direct current, while those elsewhere use alternating current. When naming reasons why many fans believe Nickelodeon has gone downhill in recent years, SpongeBob is often listed as an exception. Thus a nine coach EMU is made up of three units having one power car at each end and one at the middle. However, the characters are not immune from more adult avocations, including rock musicianship in a stadium performance reminiscent of a hard rock concert. One unit of an EMU train consists one power car and two general coaches. Part of the show's appeal has to do with the childlike nature of SpongeBob and his best friend, Patrick, both of whom are idiots and display an innocence typical of human children.

They usually have nine coaches or sometimes twelve to handle rush hour traffic. The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, released on November 19, 2004, features a cameo appearance by actor David Hasselhoff, reprising his role from the Baywatch TV series. Suburban trains that handle commuter traffic are mostly electric multiple units. Ren and Stimpy, among others, had followed a similar path. New Delhi and Kolkata have their own metro networks, namely the New Delhi Metro and the Kolkata metro, respectively. A certain quote by Patrick ("It's gonna rock!") has been used as a promo for rock stations. Hyderabad and Pune do not have dedicated suburban tracks but share the tracks with long distance trains. SpongeBob is one cartoon in a long line of shows to put in more "adult" references, and has become so popular with the adult crowd that it has been shown on MTV and Spike TV.

Currently, suburban networks operate in Mumbai (Bombay), Chennai (Madras), Kolkata (Calcutta), Delhi, Hyderabad and Pune. SpongeBob works at the Krusty Krab, a restaurant seemingly based on McDonald's or Burger King. Many cities have their own dedicated suburban networks to cater to commuters. Aside from the many undersea puns, some common products from the surface world have somehow found their way into Bikini Bottom, such as Canned Bread, Roast Beef, and even Pizza. Ticket-less travel, which results in large losses for the IR, is also an additional problem faced. SpongeBob's telephone is shaped like a conch and referred to as a "shell phone". In the holiday seasons or on long weekends, trains are usually packed more than their prescribed limit. In addition to this, instead of peanut butter, SpongeBob SquarePants uses what is called in Bikini Bottom "Sea-Nut Butter".

Overcrowding is the most widely faced problem with Indian Railways. Clams behave like birds, propelling themselves through the water with their shells and tweeting. Air conditioned coaches are also attached, and a standard train may have between three and five air-conditioned coaches. Jellyfish are the equivalent of bees (buzzing and stinging), but are collected or appreciated like butterflies and are used for their delicious jelly. Up to nine of these type coaches are usually coupled. In relation to this, underwater worms bark (and act) exactly like dogs, and are kept on chains. Each coach has different accommodation class; the most popular being the sleeper class. SpongeBob's house-pet is a snail named Gary, who meows like a cat (though characters have shown signs of being able to understand him).

Freight trains use a large variety of wagons. The suggestion is that both the head and the pineapple have fallen from a tropical island to become underwater habitats. The coaches in use are vestibules, but some of these may be dummied on some trains for operational reasons. The main character, SpongeBob lives in a pineapple, while his neighbor Squidward lives in an Easter Island head and his other neighbor and best friend, Patrick lives under a rock. Coaches are designed to accommodate anywhere from 18 to 72 passengers, but may actually accommodate many more during the holiday seasons and on busy routes. A flurry of bubbles accompany many actions, just to remind the viewer everything is underwater. A standard passenger train consists of eighteen coaches, but some popular trains can have up to 24 coaches. Once, while out in the wilderness, Patrick questions how they could have a camp fire on the lagoon bottom—the fire is immediately extinguished with a sizzle.

In South India and North-East India however, buses are the preferred mode of transport for medium to long distance transport. Instead of cars, the residents of Bikini Bottom drive boats (with wheels). The passenger division is the most preferred form of long distance transport in most of the country. This has a lot to do with the way underwater life and situations are represented, absurdly, as though they are almost equivalent to normal terrestrial lifestyles. Sikkim is the only state not connected. The cartoon is designed to appeal to children as well as older viewers. Indian Railways operates 8,702 passenger trains and transports around five billion annually across twenty-seven states and three union territories (Delhi, Pondicherry and Chandigarh). Other shows have followed in this trend as well: The Fairly OddParents and Invader Zim took a similar role when they aired in 2001, and the former is now second only to SpongeBob in popularity.

There are a total of sixty-seven divisions. SpongeBob follows some other Nickelodeon shows that have attracted "older" followers: The Ren & Stimpy Show, Rocko's Modern Life, the Kablam! skits, Action League Now!, and The Angry Beavers. Each zonal railway is made up of a certain number of divisions, each having a divisional headquarters. Low-budget cartoons had not garnered as much esteem as higher-rated (and higher-budgeted) shows, such as Rugrats, although when SpongeBob aired in 1999, it had obtained a substantial amount of viewers in the ratings to be considered popular. It is administratively considered to have the status of a zonal railway. SpongeBob is the first "low budget" Nickelodeon cartoon, according to the network, to become extremely popular. The Calcutta Metro is owned and operated by Indian Railways, but is not a part of any of the zones. .

†Konkan Railway (KR) is constituted as a separately incorporated railway, with its headquarters at Belapur CBD (Navi Mumbai), although it still comes under the control of the Railway Ministry and the Railway Board.. SpongeBob SquarePants officially aired on July 17 of the same year with the second episode, "Bubblestand/Ripped Pants." Most episodes take place in the town of Bikini Bottom or the surrounding lagoon floor. For administrative purposes, Indian Railways is divided into sixteen zones . The pilot episode first aired in the United States on Nickelodeon after the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards on May Day (May 1), 1999. The entire railway reservation system was streamlined with computerisation in 1995. SpongeBob SquarePants is a comedy set under the Pacific Ocean that uses puns (including the names of certain characters), non sequiturs, double-talk, breaking of the fourth wall, some crude humor, and other such antics to entertain the audience. By 1985, steam locomotives were phased out in favour of diesel and electric locomotives. SpongeBob SquarePants is an popular American animated television series shown on Nickelodeon, YTV, and Nicktoons Network created by marine biologist and animator, Stephen Hillenburg.

As the economy of India improved, almost all railway production units were indigenised. In the movie there is a second Krusty Krab (Krusty Krab 2), SpongeBob gets a promotion towards the end of the movie and dons a large "MANAGER" hat during the credits as well as other details. The existing rail networks were abandoned in favour of zones in 1951 and a total of six zones came into being in 1952. The events in the SpongeBob SquarePants Movie are not canonical with the events in the TV series. A total of forty-two separate railway systems, including thirty-two lines owned by the former Indian princely states, were amalgamated as a single unit which was christened as the Indian Railways. Nearly every episode contains one still or motion non-animated sequence. At the time of independence in 1947, a large portion of the railways went to the then newly formed Pakistan. In "Bubble Buddy," Spongebob celebrates Leif Erikson Day, which is a real US observance held on October 9th; the narration indicated that Spongebob actually invented the day.

The Second World War severely crippled the railways as trains were diverted to the Middle East, and the railway workshops were converted into munitions workshops. In the first series, it was possible to hear one fish scream "my legs!" in most or all episodes, usually at some point of inconsequential destruction, such as a boating school. The government took over the management of the Railways and removed the link between the financing of the Railways and other governmental revenues in 1920, a practice that continues to date with a separate railway budget. The show is "timeless" since the episodes have no dates that are set into stone and very few topical references or instances of continuity (the Krusty Krab is destroyed quite often). By the end of the First World War, the railways had suffered immensely and were in a poor state. Although the show occasionally does make reference to pop-culture, the examples are never specific. With the arrival of the First World War, the railways were used to meet the needs of the British outside India. Hillenburg has said that he intends to pass that concept over to the new people in charge of the show.

The following year, the first electric locomotive appeared. He wants his cartoon to be a timeless classic. In 1907, almost all the rail companies were taken over by the government. According to the insider book SpongeBob Exposed, the creator of the show, Steve Hillenburg, said that the policy of his show is to not do jokes about or reference pop culture and current events; the show's characters are isolated from the real world. For the first time in its history, the Railways began to make a tidy profit. According to the Season 1 DVD, its name is Shelly. The Railway Board operated under aegis of the Department of Commerce and Industry and had three members: a government railway official serving as chairman, a railway manager from England and an agent of one of the company railways. It can also be seen in the episode "Something Smells", along with many others.

A Railway Board was constituted in 1901, but decision-making power was retained by the Viceroy, Lord Curzon. In the episode "Help Wanted", SpongeBob can be seen with a pet scallop in a cage next to his bed. Soon various independent kingdoms built their own rail systems and the network spread to the regions that became the modern-day states of Assam, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. The pirate in the painting saying "Are you ready kids?" - "I can't hear you" in the beginning theme sequence had a chroma key used for the moving lips. By 1895, India had started building its own locomotives, and in 1896 sent engineers and locomotives to help build the Uganda Railway. Krabs: Cancer. The route mileage of this network was about 14,500 km (9,000 miles) by 1880, mostly radiating inward from the three major port cities of Bombay, Madras and Calcutta. Mr.

Once established, the company would be transferred to the government, with the original company retaining operational control. Squidward: Capricorn (on the Tropical zodiac) or Libra (stereotype: likes the finer things in life, taking it easy, wants to do no work (on the Sidereal zodiac)). The British government encouraged new railway companies backed by private investors under a scheme that would guarantee an annual return of five percent during the initial years of operation. In one short, Plankton is depicted as a Leo. Covering a distance of 34 km (21 miles), it formally heralded the birth of railways in India. Plankton: Leo (stereotype: diabolical and plotting), among others. A year and a half later, on 1853-04-16, the first passenger train service was inaugurated between Bori Bunder, Bombay and Thana. SpongeBob: Sagittarius (stereotype: overly enthusiastic, optimistic, and foolish).

The first train in India became operational on 1851-12-22, and was used for the hauling of construction material in Roorkee. Patrick: Taurus (stereotype: thick-headed). Interest from investors in the UK led to the rapid creation of a rail system over the next few years. Featured characters have included: