System, method, and apparatus for providing backup of electronic instruction to a locomotive or train

1. A system for communicating instructions to at least one locomotive approaching or traversing a predetermined zone, comprising:

a first communication device located at or associated with the predetermined zone and configured to communicate audio data from a field operator;

a second communication device located on or associated with the at least one locomotive;

at least one processor programmed or configured to:

receive the audio data from the first communication device;

convert at least a portion of the audio data to text data; and

directly or indirectly transmit at least one message to the second communication device, wherein the at least one message comprises at least one of the following: at least a portion of the text data, at least a portion of the audio data, or any combination thereof;

a locomotive display device in the at least one locomotive configured to display at least a portion of the at least one message received by the second communication device to an operator of the at least one locomotive, and

at least one database programmed or configured to receive and store at least a portion of the at least one message.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one database is further programmed or configured to store communication data related to the at least one message, the communication data comprising at least one of the following: geographic data, locomotive identification data, time data, field operator data, locomotive operator data, or any combination thereof.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the at least one processor is further programmed or configured to, after directly or indirectly transmitting the at least one message, store in the at least one database action data of the at least one locomotive while the at least one locomotive approaches or operates within the predetermined zone, the action data comprising at least one of the following: locomotive location data, locomotive speed data, locomotive direction data, responsive communication data, or any combination thereof.

4. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:

a remote display device associated with a dispatch center, the remote display device programmed or configured to receive the text data from the at least one processor and present the text data to a personnel for review, and

a speaker associated with the dispatch center, the speaker configured to receive the audio data from the at least one processor and present the audio data to the personnel for comparison to the text data.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the at least one processor is further programmed or configured to, in response to receiving an instruction from the personnel, directly or indirectly transmit the at least one message.

6. The system of claim 4 , wherein the at least one processor is located at or associated with the dispatch center.

7. The system of claim 4 , wherein the at least one processor is positioned remotely from the predetermined zone and the dispatch center.

8. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a field display device positioned in the predetermined zone, the field display device programmed or configured to receive the text data from the at least one processor and present the text data to the field operator for review and comparison to the audio data that was communicated to the at least one processor by the field operator.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the at least one processor is further programmed or configured to, in response to receiving an instruction from the field operator, directly or indirectly transmit the at least one message.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further programmed or configured to encrypt the at least one message prior to directly or indirectly transmitting the at least one message.

11. A method for communicating instructions to at least one locomotive approaching or traversing a predetermined zone, comprising:

receiving audio data from a first communication device, the first communication device located at or associated with the predetermined zone and the message spoken by a field operator;

converting at least a portion of the audio data to text data;

communicating or facilitating the communication of the text data for display to a dispatch center personnel or the field operator for review of the converting step;

in response to receiving an instruction from the dispatch center personnel or the field operator, directly or indirectly transmitting at least one message to a second communication device located on or associated with the at least one locomotive, wherein the at least one message comprises at least one of the following: at least a portion of the text data, at least a portion of the audio data, or any combination thereof; and

storing at least a portion of the at least one message in at least one database.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising storing in the at least one database communication data related to the at least one message, the communication data comprising at least one of the following: geographic data, locomotive identification data, time data, field operator data, locomotive operator data, or any combination thereof.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising, after directly or indirectly transmitting the at least one message, storing in the at least one database action data of the at least one locomotive while the at least one locomotive approaches or operates within the predetermined zone, the action data comprising at least one of the following: locomotive location data, locomotive speed data, locomotive direction data, responsive communication data, or any combination thereof.

14. The method of claim 11 , further comprising communicating or facilitating the communication of the audio data along with the text data to the dispatch center personnel or the field operator for review of the converting step.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising encrypting at least one of the audio data and the text data prior to communicating or facilitating the communication of the audio data along with the text data to the dispatch center personnel or the field operator for review of the converting step.

16. The method of claim 11 , further comprising encrypting the at least one message prior to directly or indirectly transmitting the at least one message to the second communication device.

17. An apparatus for communicating instructions to at least one locomotive approaching or traversing a predetermined zone, the apparatus comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium having program instructions stored thereon that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:

receive audio data from a first communication device, the first communication device located at or associated with the predetermined zone and the message spoken by a field operator;

convert at least a portion of the audio data to text data;

communicate or facilitate the communication of the text data for display to a dispatch center personnel or the field operator for review of the converting step;

in response to receiving an instruction from the dispatch center personnel or the field operator, directly or indirectly transmit at least one message to a second communication device located on or associated with the at least one locomotive, wherein the at least one message comprises at least one of the following: at least a portion of the text data, at least a portion of the audio data, or any combination thereof; and

store at least a portion of the at least one message in at least one database.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the program instructions further cause the at least one processor to store communication data related to the at least one message, the communication data comprising at least one of the following: geographic data, locomotive identification data, time data, field operator data, locomotive operator data, or any combination thereof.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the program instructions further cause the at least one processor to, after directly or indirectly transmitting the at least one message, store action data of the at least one locomotive while the at least one locomotive approaches or operates within the predetermined zone, the action data comprising at least one of the following: locomotive location data, locomotive speed data, locomotive direction data, responsive communication data, or any combination thereof.

20. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the program instructions further cause the at least one processor to encrypt the at least one message prior to directly or indirectly transmitting the at least one message.