Instead of nice straight lines they snake back and forth in some really odd ways in parts of the world. InsightsThe need to make sense of railroad schedules was one of the main reasons for the creation of time zones. How Was the Time Zone System Developed? In local areas, though, the lines are not always straight, but are shifted to run along natural boundaries like mountain ranges or rivers. Time Zones are ControversialMKPhoto12 / Shutterstock.comEverybody has an opinion about time zones because they affect all our lives.