[1] Punchbowl was the first electric train depot to have a carriage washing plant installed, in 1959.

The depot formerly stabled and maintained trains used on the Bankstown and East Hills lines.

By the early 1990s Punchbowl was considered "in the middle of nowhere" due to the expansion of Sydney's population to the west and south-west and Punchbowl was no longer near the terminus of the lines it served, adding to operational difficulties and inconvenience.

Punchbowl Maintenance Centre closed in February 1995[2] after the last single-deck carriages were withdrawn in November 1993.

The site lay closed and derelict for several years, before being demolished.