Birur Junction railway station (station code: RRB) is a railway station serving the town of Birur in the Kadur taluk of Chikkamagaluru district, Karnataka, India. It functions as a junction station on the South Western Railway zone of Indian Railways, where the line towards Shivamogga branches off from the main route connecting Bengaluru with Hubballi via Arsikere.
| Name | Birur Junction railway station |
|---|---|
| Station code | RRB |
| Location | Birur, Kadur taluk, Chikkamagaluru district, Karnataka |
| Country | India |
| Operator | Indian Railways |
| Zone | South Western Railway |
| Division | Mysuru |
| Type | Junction station |
Birur is a small town in the Malnad–maidan transition belt of central Karnataka. The town developed in part as a railway settlement, with the junction historically serving as a watering and crew-change point on the metre gauge route between Bengaluru and the Arabian Sea coast. The branch towards Shivamogga (formerly Shimoga) made Birur an important interchange for goods and passenger traffic moving into the Malnad region.
Birur Junction lies on the route between Arsikere Junction and the Shivamogga branch line, with onward connectivity towards Hubballi Junction, Bengaluru, and Mysuru Junction. Trains from the station provide services towards:
The line through Birur was originally constructed as a metre gauge route under the Mysore State Railway and later operated by the Southern Railway after the formation of Indian Railways zones in 1951. The branch to Shivamogga consolidated Birur's status as a junction. As part of Indian Railways' Project Unigauge programme, the routes through Birur were converted from metre gauge to broad gauge in stages, integrating the station into the broad gauge network of South Western Railway, which was constituted in 2003 with its headquarters at Hubballi.
The station serves as the principal railhead for Birur town and the surrounding agricultural hinterland of Kadur taluk, an area known for arecanut, coconut and coffee cultivation. As a junction, it plays a role in routing express and passenger services between coastal and Malnad Karnataka and the state capital, and supports goods movement linked to local agricultural produce.