NEW YORK - New York State won a tiny fraction of the federal high-speed rail money that Florida and California will receive -- all because federal officials think the state is far behind its big-state competition in planning for the service.

New York was awarded $151 million in rail funding last week, with $2.3 billion allocated to California and $1.25 billion to Florida.

"I think the money we gave New York reflects what we thought about their application," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told reporters Wednesday.

And an official close to the high-speed rail program said the state's plan for the service -- which eventually would connect metro Buffalo with Albany, and New York City with Montreal -- "needs to be fleshed out."

Other sources said the state might not have gotten a dime if not for the persistence of Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, D-Fairport, and other federal lawmakers.

Of the 11 high-speed rail plans that received at least $100 million in the fight for $8 billion in stimulus money, New York finished 10th, just ahead of the already-developed Washington, D.C.-to-Boston route -- and just behind a route that links New Haven, Conn., to Springfield, Mass., and St. Albans, Vt.