Vehicle communication system, control system, and method

A vehicle control system, comprising:

• a controller configured to determine a communication loss between a first vehicle and one or more of:
• a monitoring device or
• a second vehicle in a vehicle system that also includes the first vehicle,
• wherein the controller is configured to implement an operational restriction on movement of one or more vehicles in the vehicle system based on the communication loss that is determined,
• wherein the controller also is configured to obtain or generate a transitional plan that designates operational settings for one or more of the first vehicle or the second vehicle based at least in part on a location of the one or more of the first vehicle or the second vehicle, and
• wherein the controller also is configured to determine re-establishment of communication between the first vehicle and the one or more of the monitoring device or the second vehicle and, responsive to determining that communication is re-established, to obtain or generate a return plan that designates different operational settings of the one or more of the first vehicle or the second vehicle to remove the operational restriction of the one or more of the first vehicle or the second vehicle.

A vehicle control system, comprising:

• a controller configured to determine a decrease in communication quality between a first vehicle and one or more of:
• a monitoring device or
• a second vehicle in a vehicle system that also includes the first vehicle,
• wherein the controller is configured to implement an operational restriction on movement of one or more vehicles in the vehicle system based on the communication quality being less than a threshold quality,
• wherein the controller is configured to obtain or generate a transitional plan that designates operational settings for one or more of the first vehicle or the second vehicle based at least in part on a location of the one or more of the first vehicle or the second vehicle, and
• wherein the controller also is configured to determine an increase in the communication quality above the threshold quality and, responsive to the communication quality increasing to or above the threshold quality, the controller is configured to obtain or generate a return plan that designates different operational settings of the one or more of the first vehicle or the second vehicle to remove the operational restriction of the one or more of the first vehicle or the second vehicle.