Acceleration and deceleration handrail driving device

Disk-shaped pulleys 6 arranged on entrance side IN and exit side OUT and rotated around a horizontal axis, an expansion link chain 8 endlessly wound between the disk-shaped pulleys, and a flexible handrail belt member 10 connected outside the expansion link chain and extendable/retractable in a traveling direction are provided. The expansion link chain comprises expansion links 82 connected in series. The expansion link is flexibly extendable/retractable in length direction and has a pivot 84. An acceleration/deceleration device 12 accelerates/decelerates the pivot, and has a first track chain 122 endlessly guided along a predetermined first track and a first pressing fitting 128 having a rod shape extending outwards swingably attached to the first track chain. A tip of the first pressing fitting is detachably engaged with the pivot to accelerate/decelerate the pivot by continuously changing distance between the pivots by change of swing angle of the first pressing fitting.