Braking system and method

A system comprising:

• one or more processors configured to control operation of an air brake system having plural braking devices each disposed on a different vehicle of a vehicle system and configured to control braking efforts in the air brake system via the braking device disposed onboard the corresponding vehicle,
• the one or more processors configured to identify an initiation point at which braking efforts are configured to originate, the initiation point defined by a location along a length of the vehicle system and associated with at least one of the plural braking devices or at least one of the different vehicles of the vehicle system,
• the one or more processors configured to communicate one or more command messages to the plural braking devices, the one or more command messages being based at least in part on a location of one or more of the braking devices or the different vehicles relative to the initiation point, the one or more command messages including a vehicle identifier associated with one or more of the plural braking devices or the different corresponding vehicles, wherein a first command message comprising a first vehicle identifier is configured to be received by a first braking device, and a second command message comprising a second vehicle identifier is configured to be received by a second braking device,
• wherein the one or more command messages are configured to control one or more of a rate of a braking effort propagation along the vehicle system or a direction of the braking effort propagation between the plural braking devices.

A method comprising:

• identifying an initiation point at which braking efforts are configured to originate, the initiation point defining a location along a length of a vehicle system;
• communicating one or more command messages to plural braking devices of an air brake system, each of the plural braking devices disposed on a different vehicle of the vehicle system, the one or more command messages being based at least in part on a location of one or more of the braking devices or the different vehicles relative to the initiation point, the initiation point associated with one or more of at least one of the plural braking devices or at least one of the different vehicles of the vehicle system, the one or more command messages configured to control braking efforts in the air brake system via the braking device disposed onboard the corresponding vehicle,
• wherein the one or more command messages are configured to control a direction of a braking effort propagation between the plural braking devices in one or more directions from the initiation point by controlling the braking devices based on locations of the plural braking devices, and
• wherein the one or more command messages are configured to control a rate of the braking effort propagation along the vehicle system in one or more directions from the initiation point in order to control a distance between two or more vehicles of the vehicle system.