A stairway safety rail system for assisting in ascending and descending a staircase. The stairway safety rail system includes a rail having a channel disposed along a longitudinal axis and a guide block slidably joined to the channel having a plurality of bearings that can move the guide block along the longitudinal axis. A pivot assembly having a rotatable sleeve and a pivot slot secures to the guide block. A handle removably secures to the rotatable sleeve, wherein the rotatable sleeve is pivotally disposed in a working configuration and stored configuration within the pivot slot via a spring loaded release pin. In an alternative embodiment, the plurality of bearings within the guide block each have an adjustable tension, the handle is telescopically adjustable, and a braking strip is applied to a lower end of the channel to restrict movement of the bearings of the guide block.
