To provide a vehicle brake device which remarkably saves energy by eliminating the need to always use electric energy for actuating a motor when atmospheric air is compressed by a compressor and stored in an air tank, and which actuates the compressor by efficiently utilizing rolling-stock decelerating or stopping energy in braking.

This brake device comprises a driving wheel 2 which, when a controller for speed adjustments is turned off while a driver is operating the brake, swings and presses against the tread of a wheel 1 of a rolling stock to operate in conjunction with the wheel 1, a compressor 3 for compressing atmospheric air, an air tank 4 for storing the compressed air, a pair of brake shoes 4, 5 which sandwich the tread of the wheel 1 from the front and the rear to press against the tread, and a motor 6 for actuating the compressor 3 only at the beginning.