Delhi Airport to Punjab - direct buses - painful journey

I had the unfortunate experience of taking this bus service from IGI to Jalandhar. My flight was delayed from London to Delhi by 12 hours, and I missed my train. The only other way for me to get to Jalandhar was to get onto a bus. I asked the Local Call booth guy for Indo - Canadian bus service's number (I remembered that they operate nearby). he called up the guys and luckily the bus had just left the airport and they stopped the bus. I payed Rs 1000 for the ticket and boarded the bus at 2 PM. Covering a distance of 400 Kms shouldn't be a big deal I thought to myself. It took us 3 hours to get to GT road, and the bus stopped at Karnal and Rajpura for snacks. I reached jalandhar at 2 AM, and was pissed off since I was told it would take 8-9 hours.

I would like other peoples' input for reaching punjab that doesn't involve an overnight stay in Delhi and doesn't take too long.

I am assuming that this would be your first visit to India. Anywhere in the country, it takes 8-9 hours to travel 400km. It is the same even if you take a train. It is completely normal. Your only option to travel 400km any faster is to fly, where airports exist and airlines operate.

Thanks, I will probably take a flight from Delhi to Amritsar next time.
I agree it would take 8-9 hours, but the bus operator really makes it a harrowing experience(with frequent stops) and takes more than 12 hours. Unfortunately, it's the most convenient option from the airport.