Sydney’s Metro tunnels are 25 to 40 metres beneath the surface, as transport and infrastructure editor Matt O’Sullivan explains in this story.

It does mean the walk out of some stations might be longer than the commute itself.

We put a few of them to the test.

Nick Newling, Martin Place, 3 minutes 12 seconds
Exiting Martin Place is no small feat, with two massive sets of escalators carrying passengers out to the street. Despite rush hour crowds, things move quite quickly.

Kayla Olaya, Victoria Cross, 2 minutes and 49 seconds
After walking past the arcade, I put my timer on and leisurely walked down and took the escalators to the platforms. It’s important for readers to know I have particularly short legs – taller readers might save a few more seconds.

Nick Newling, Waterloo, 2 minutes 45 seconds
The almost three-minute trip from the metro platform to the street is made very enjoyable by two massive art installations. There are plenty of lifts and escalators across the platform.

Daniel Lo Surdo, Macquarie University, 2 minutes 41 seconds
Moving to the platform is relatively quick, with two large escalators the only thing standing between the street and the Opal gates. Down past the EzyMart and one more set of escalators and, hey presto, you have two feet on the platform.

Kathryn Wicks, Epping, 2 minutes 13 seconds: Transferring from the T9 platform down to the metro at Epping is reasonably fast compared to most stations. The trick is to be in the middle cars on your suburban train.

And the winner is … Michael Ruffles, Central, 2 minutes 12 seconds
Getting off the T9 on Central’s platform 12, the transfer down to the Metro couldn’t be simpler. The middle cars are right by the escalators, which helps. Even with a wait we were on the way in less than five minutes.