Kto i dlaczego losuje w Polsce rozkład jazdy PKP
- Problem: Users of the "Portal Pasażera" (PKP PLK's official search engine) noticed that train departure times were changing randomly upon every page refresh.
- Mechanism: The site was not displaying technical errors, but rather "poisoned data"—valid train names with completely randomized departure and arrival times.
- The "Why": This is a deliberate anti-scraping measure designed to thwart unofficial apps and bots from stealing data. Instead of blocking access (which is easy to bypass), the system serves false information to devalue the data.
- Collateral Damage: The system often misidentifies legitimate human users as bots, particularly those sharing a public IP address (e.g., via mobile networks, Starlink, or large corporate/university Wi-Fi).
- Detection: The "lottery" is triggered when the system detects a high frequency of requests from a single IP. It alters times by several minutes to over an hour.
- Risks: Passengers relying on these randomized times may miss their actual trains or wait unnecessarily long at stations, as the interface provides no warning that the data being shown is fake.
- Recommendation: To ensure accuracy, users should verify schedules via alternative sources like carrier-specific sites (e.g., intercity.pl), physical station posters, or by changing their network connection to obtain a new IP.