Though the Zone was first set up on September 8,1996 with Headquarters at Hajipur, Bihar, it became operational on 1st October, 2002 East Central Railway was carved out of Eastern and North Eastern Railway consisting of the divisions namely Dhanbad, Danapur, Mughalsarai from Eastern Railways and Sonepur and Samastipur out of North Eastern Railway. The last eleven years of its existence has been full of challenges and every obstacle was dealt in a dedicated manner despite constraints of work force and infrastructure.