  After a brief review of the derivation of the standard phase time formula,
based on the use of the stationary phase method, we propose, in the opaque
limit, an alternative method to calculate the phase time. The new formula for
the phase time is in excellent agreement with the numerical simulations and
shows that for wave packets whose upper limit of the momentum distribution is
very close to the barrier height, the transit time is proportional to the
barrier width.
