Patent ID: 8838302

Claim:
A method comprising: for a vehicle system having multiple vehicles connected with each other by couplers to travel along a route, identifying total power outputs to be provided by propulsion-generating vehicles of the vehicles in the vehicle system, the total power outputs determined for different locations of the vehicle system along the route; calculating handling parameters of the vehicle system at one or more of the different locations along the route, the handling parameters representative of at least one of forces exerted on the couplers, energies stored in the couplers, relative velocities of neighboring vehicles of the vehicles in the vehicle system, or natural forces exerted on one or more segments of the vehicle system between two or more of the propulsion-generating vehicles; determining asynchronous operational settings for the propulsion-generating vehicles at the different locations along the route, the asynchronous operational settings representing different operational settings for the propulsion-generating vehicles that cause the propulsion-generating vehicles to provide at least the total power outputs at the respective different locations while changing the handling parameters of the vehicle system to one or more designated values at the different locations along the route; and communicating the asynchronous operational settings to the propulsion-generating vehicles in order to cause the propulsion-generating vehicles to implement the asynchronous operational settings at the different locations.