Most of the test methods used for determining the acoustic performance of the noise barriers in Korean standards address the sound-proof panels but refer to noise barriers as a whole system or their in-situ performances less. Many new types of trains with different operating speeds have been developed and produced, and civil appeals against railway noise are becoming quite extensive. Considering these latest changes of circumstances, it is necessary to investigate the current standards and specifications pertaining to railway noise barriers. In this paper, criteria for the measurements and evaluations of noise barriers and sound-proof panels are examined and experimental studies are introduced. In order to suggest more efficient methods for reasonable evaluations of the noise barriers, frequency spectrums of the noise source, the power of the actual railway vehicles, are investigated and introduced.