Collisions between rail transit vehicles are unavoidable. In order to alleviate the disaster caused by the collision, energy-absorbing and shock-absorbing materials are generally installed at the front end of the rail vehicle. In this paper, a variable buffer-force planing energy-absorbing device for rail transit vehicles was prepared. The buffer force was changed by length (Dx), angle (A) and thickness (W). First, we manufactured one type of material, and data were obtained through experimentation. Second, we used Ls-DYNA to simulate this material, and determined the accuracy between the simulation and the test. Third, various parameters of the material were simulated by Ls-DYNA. The results show that changing Dx greatly affects the performance of the material, W has no obvious effect on the performance, and A is important for the materials properties. Based on finite element simulation, the functional model relationship between the average force and various parameters was deduced. This lays the groundwork for the application of the variable buffer-force planing energy absorbing device.