In this case the “object” was another train. That’s not the “hard” part of the problem. This sounds like an apologist comment.
Are there systems that can warn drivers and prevent collisions without external signaling, like ACAS?
Detecting an object on the tracks 2 km away (say), as opposed to beside the track at the same distance, is in fact a hard problem. The tech used in self-driving cars is not going to solve it.