my %line = ( lineNameA => { StationA => [ xxx.xx, yyy.yy, zzz.zz ], StationB => [ xxx.xx, yyy.yy, zzz.zz ], ... }, lineNameB => { ... ); my( $x, $y, $z ) = $line{ $lineName }{ $stationName }; # Or use constant{ X => 0, Y => 1, Z => 2 }; my $y = $line[ $lineNo ][ $staionNo ][ Y ];