Railway Support Bug Report: Variable Reference Not Working for Backend Services

Issue Summary

Problem: Database Variable Reference (${{service-name.DATABASE_URL}}) is not resolving correctly for Backend services, while working perfectly for Auth services in the same project.

Impact: Backend services cannot use Variable References and must rely on hardcoded DATABASE_URL, creating maintenance issues and potential security concerns.

Environment Details

•Platform: Railway

•Region: Southeast Asia (Singapore)

•Project: Smart Village Management System

•Database Service: smart-village-database2 (PostgreSQL)

•Affected Services: Backend services (Node.js)

•Working Services: Auth services (Node.js)

Detailed Problem Description

Services Configuration:

1.smart-village-authen-service ( WORKING)

•Uses: ${{smart-village-database2.DATABASE_URL}}

•Status: Variable Reference resolves correctly

•Connection: Successful

2.smart-village-backend ( NOT WORKING)

•Uses: ${{smart-village-database2.DATABASE_URL}}

•Status: Variable Reference does not resolve

•Error: ECONNREFUSED / TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined

Error Details:

Plain Text

TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'searchParams') at parse (/app/node_modules/pg-connection-string/index.js:39:30)

Troubleshooting Attempts:

1.Recreated Backend Service - Same issue persists

2.Verified Service Linking - Database appears linked in Railway dashboard

3.Checked Railway Provided Variables - No DATABASE_URL available for Backend

4.Tested with Hardcoded URL - Works perfectly with direct URL

Evidence

Working Auth Service Variables:

•DATABASE_URL: ${{smart-village-database2.DATABASE_URL}} Resolves correctly

•Service connects to database successfully

Non-Working Backend Service Variables:

•DATABASE_URL: ${{smart-village-database2.DATABASE_URL}} Does not resolve

•Railway Provided Variables: No DATABASE_URL present

•Must use hardcoded URL: postgresql://postgres:wTSCdmYKIEipsSiVQhbWvZqfVQIQkrUL@switchback.proxy.rlwy.net:45960/railway

Expected Behavior

Variable Reference ${{smart-village-database2.DATABASE_URL}} should resolve to the actual database URL for ALL services in the project, not just Auth services.

Current Workaround

Using hardcoded DATABASE_URL in Backend services, which works but defeats the purpose of Variable References and creates maintenance overhead.

Request

Please investigate why Variable References work for some services but not others in the same project, and provide a fix to ensure consistent behavior across all services.

Additional Information

•Both services use identical Node.js runtime

•Both services are in the same Railway project

•Database service is healthy and accessible

•Issue is reproducible across multiple Backend service instances

Thank you for your assistance in resolving this issue.