A race for influence is unfolding on Afghanistan’s rail map, where China and India are advancing rival corridors that could redefine Eurasian connectivity. Beijing, through its partnership with Uzbekistan and Pakistan, is driving an eastern Termez–Mazar-i-Sharif–Kabul–Pakistan line tied to the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). This route promises speed and scale, particularly for bulk commodities, while strengthening China’s strategic transport ring. India, by contrast, favors a western Kazakhstan–Turkmenistan–Afghanistan (KTA) alignment that connects seamlessly with Iranian ports and the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC), giving New Delhi redundancy, strategic autonomy, and access without Pakistani chokepoints. For Central Asia, the parallel development of eastern and western routes offers leverage and diversification in trade partnerships. While Pakistan’s bulk exports may gain from faster transit on the eastern corridor, India’s value-added goods stand to benefit from the stability and flexibility of the western line. The outcome is unlikely to be monopoly but a multipolar rail order, with both China and India embedding infrastructure as instruments of statecraft across Eurasia.