The design standard for railway steel structures and composite girders was recently revised, and its range of applicability was extended to recently developed steel materials including Ni-advanced weathering steels and Bridge High-performance Steels (BHS). Ni-advanced weathering steels can be applied without painting to bridges in corrosive environments, while BHS materials feature high strength and enhanced weldability. This paper explains the method of evaluation for the applicability of Ni-advanced weathering steels from the results of exposure tests, and outlines the advantages of BHS application to railway bridges from the results of trial design.