v.lrs.create - GRASS GIS manual
Author: GRASS Development Team
Description: v.lrs.create: Creates a linear reference system.
Keywords: vector, linear reference system, network

## NAME

v.lrs.create - Creates a linear reference system.

## KEYWORDS

vector, linear reference system, network

## SYNOPSIS

v.lrs.create
v.lrs.create --help
v.lrs.create in_lines=name out_lines=name [err=name] points=name [llayer=string] [player=string] lidcol=string pidcol=string [start_mp=string] [start_off=string] [end_mp=string] [end_off=string] [rsdriver=string] [rsdatabase=string] rstable=string [threshold=float] [--overwrite] [--help] [--verbose] [--quiet] [--ui]

### Flags:

--overwrite
  Allow output files to overwrite existing files
--help
  Print usage summary
--verbose
  Verbose module output
--quiet
  Quiet module output
--ui
  Force launching GUI dialog

### Parameters:

in_lines=name [required]
  Name of input vector map
  Input vector map containing lines
out_lines=name [required]
  Output vector map where oriented lines are written
err=name
  Output vector map of errors
points=name [required]
  Name of input vector map
  Input vector map containing reference points
llayer=string
  Layer number or name
  Line layer
  Default: 1
player=string
  Layer number or name
  Point layer
  Default: 1
lidcol=string [required]
  Column containing line identifiers for lines
pidcol=string [required]
  Column containing line identifiers for points
start_mp=string
  Column containing milepost position for the beginning of next segment
  Default: start_mp
start_off=string
  Column containing offset from milepost for the beginning of next segment
  Default: start_off
end_mp=string
  Column containing milepost position for the end of previous segment
  Default: end_mp
end_off=string
  Column containing offset from milepost for the end of previous segment
  Default: end_off
rsdriver=string
  Driver name for reference system table
  Options: dbf, ogr, pg, sqlite
  Default: sqlite
rsdatabase=string
  Database name for reference system table
  Default: $GISDBASE/$LOCATION_NAME/$MAPSET/sqlite/sqlite.db
rstable=string [required]
  Name of table where the reference system will be written
  New table is created by this module
threshold=float
  Maximum distance of point to line allowed
  Default: 1

## DESCRIPTION

v.lrs.create generates a LRS (Linear Reference System) from vector line and point data.

It is highly recommended to work with polylines instead of segmented vector lines. The command v.build.polylines creates this map structure.

## NOTES

The mileposts (point) vector map columns start_mp, start_off, end_mp, end_off must be of 'double precision' type. For milepost ordering, it is sufficient to enter increasing numbers into the start_mp column indicating the order along the vector line.

The lidcol and pidcol columns contain the line IDs which relate mileposts and vector line(s) to each other.

When creating a LRS with this module, any existing rstable will be replaced.

## EXAMPLE

This example is written for the Spearfish dataset.

As first step, bus route data are prepared.

    # break into segments for correct route selection
    v.clean roads_net out=busroute_tmp tool=break

    # make polyline for easier line selection by coordinate pairs
    v.build.polylines busroute_tmp out=busroute_tmp2

    # reverse delete: reduce route map to bus route (enter in one line)
    v.edit -r busroute_tmp2 tool=delete coords=590273,4927304,\
    590346,4927246,590414,4927210,590438,4927096,590468,4926966,\
    590491,4926848,590566,4926798,590637,4926753,590701,4926698,\
    590830,4926726,590935,4926751,590993,4926830,590972,4926949,\
    590948,4927066,590922,4927182,590957,4927251 threshold=5

    # vector line needs to be polyline
    v.build.polylines busroute_tmp2 out=busroute_tmp3
    v.category busroute_tmp3 out=busroute op=add
    g.remove -f type=vector name=busroute_tmp,busroute_tmp2,busroute_tmp3

The result can be visualized:

    g.region vector=busroute n=n+100 s=s-100 w=w-100 e=e+100
    d.mon x0
    d.vect roads_net
    d.vect busroute col=red width=2

The vector map 'busroute' needs have an attribute table which contain an integer column lidcol with value be '22' for this example (bus route):

    v.db.addtable busroute col="lid integer"
    v.db.update busroute col=lid value=22
    v.db.select busroute
    cat|lid
    1|22

A new point map 'busstops' shall contain mileposts (bus stops) along this line (use thresh to define maximal accepted deviation from this line):

    # generate points map
    echo "590263|4927361
    590432|4927120
    590505|4926776
    590660|4926687
    590905|4926742
    590972|4926949
    591019|4927263" | v.in.ascii out=busstops

    d.vect busstops icon=basic/triangle col=blue
    d.vect busstops disp=cat lcol=blue

The milepost attributes table needs to be created with specific columns:

    v.db.addtable busstops col="lid integer, start_mp double precision, \
                start_off double precision, end_mp double precision, \
                end_off double precision"
    v.db.update busstops col=lid value=22

Since the digitizing order of v.in.ascii above reflects the bus stop order along the route, we can simply copy the category number as milepost order number in column start_mp:

    v.db.update busstops col=start_mp qcol=cat
    # verify table
    v.db.select busstops
    cat|lid|start_mp|start_off|end_mp|end_off
    1|22|1|||
    2|22|2|||
    3|22|3|||
    4|22|4|||
    5|22|5|||
    6|22|6|||
    7|22|7|||

    # visualize with start_mp to check order
    d.erase
    d.vect roads_net
    d.vect busroute col=red width=2
    d.vect busstops icon=basic/triangle col=blue
    d.vect busstops disp=attr attrcol=start_mp lcol=blue

Offsets (start_off, end_off) can be later used in case the route or mileposts get modified.

As second step, the linear reference network is created:

    v.lrs.create busroute points=busstops out=route_lrs err=lrs_error \
                 lidcol=lid pidcol=lid rstable=route_lrs threshold=50

This creates the maps 'route_lrs' containing the LRS and 'lrs_error' containing the errors if any. The resulting LRS table and map can be shown:

    # show LRS table
    db.select table=route_lrs

    d.vect route_lrs col=blue width=2

## SEE ALSO

LRS tutorial,
Introducing the Linear Reference System in GRASS,

v.build.polylines, v.lrs.segment, v.lrs.where, v.lrs.label

## AUTHOR

Radim Blazek, ITC-irst/MPA Solutions
Documentation update (based on above journal article and available fragments): Markus Neteler

## SOURCE CODE

Available at: v.lrs.create source code (history)

Accessed: Tuesday Jun 16 04:05:19 2026

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