Revenue from the general excise tax surcharge for the $5.3 billion rail transit project has exceeded the city’s recent projections, the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation announced Thursday in a news release.

The state collected $49.8 million in revenue from the 0.5 percent general excise surcharge for the last quarter of this fiscal year, totaling $179.1 million for this fiscal year.

That’s 9 percent more than the $163.9 million HART officials projected, said HART spokeswoman Jeanne Belding.

The  surcharge collections to date total $715 million, $15 million more than the city projected.