Every person who has been on the subway at least once has probably paid attention to the fact that the escalator handrail moves at a speed different from the speed of the steps. He can crawl more slowly or, on the contrary, go faster. Despite the fact that sooner or later everyone notices this subtlety, almost no one thinks about why this was done.
The crux of the matter is that on escalators of short length, metro passengers (as a rule) simply do not have time to feel that the steps and handrail are moving at different speeds. The fact is that the difference between their moves is often not that big. Nevertheless, it exists and this is done for a reason. In order to "feel the difference", it is worth taking a ride on some really long escalator that runs to a station, for example, one lying under the river. The simplest example is the metro station in St. Petersburg. There are deep stations in Moscow as well.
Those who have ever ridden an escalator at deep stops know that during the ascent (or descent) you have to shift your hand from place to place from two to four times. When escalators first appeared, the most sharp-tongued townspeople liked to joke that passengers the subway is deliberately deprived of comfortable trips on moving stairs so that they do not fall asleep and relaxed.
The funny thing is that in a sense, the difference in the speed of the handrail and steps is made precisely to keep the passenger in good shape. The fact is that if the handle moved at the same speed, then the metro passenger would find himself in a traumatic situation at the exit from the escalator. The inertia is to blame: at the exit from the moving steps, the speed of the body is quite high. If at the moment of descent you do not release your hand from the tape, you can easily lose your balance and fall, but only under the condition that the handrail moves at the same speed as the steps. A person would simply not have time to unclench his hand.
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It is for this reason that the handrail moves 2-5% faster than the steps. These indicators are spelled out in the technical regulations of the corresponding metro equipment. Thus, the hand always overtakes the body a little and the person has a few extra seconds to lower the hand. In addition, there are many people who, from monotonous movement, may start to feel dizzy and even have an attack of motion sickness. The desynchronization of the moving elements avoids this.
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If you want to know something else interesting, then there is material about why unusual transport was practically forgottenbefore starting the era of the monorail.
A source: https://novate.ru/blogs/050220/53335/