COMPENSATION claims from disgruntled commuters are pouring into Chiltern Railways after the Gerrards Cross tunnel collapse last Thursday evening.

The railway company is reviewing its policy on compensation in, what it describes as an "extraordinary set of circumstances". It has already announced the possibility of refunding hundreds of its most frequent customers on a case-by-case basis.

The rail company has seen its train services thrown into chaos since the tunnel collapsed.

It has been forced into operating an emergency timetable with replacement buses taking people between stations across the region.

Tesco is currently in talks with Chiltern Railways to work out how best to compensate passengers for the major disruption to travel.

A spokesman for the supermarket giant said: "We are discussing the issue of compensation with Chiltern Rail and the other stakeholders involved in the incident, but have not reached a conclusion yet. As soon as we have this it will be communicated to commuters."

Tesco, along with its building contractor Jackson Civil Engineering, could face a multi-million pound compensation bill from Chiltern Railways and train users.

A spokesman for Chiltern Railways confirmed it was in talks, but would not go into specific details but confirmed that because of the length of the disruption a review of the current policy was underway.

A spokesman said: "We are working out how best to implement it to make it as easy as possible for passengers. We are increasing the size of our customer services team, but please bear with us if we take longer than usual to process claims."

Tesco remained tight lipped over the future of the store.

A spokesman for Tesco said: "Our priority is to get the railway line cleared and open as soon as possible and the project's civil engineers, Jacksons, are working round the clock to do this. It is too early to say how the incident will impact on the building programme."

Rail users can make a claim immediately under the terms of the Passenger Charter. But Chiltern Railways are recommending season ticket holders wait.

A spokesman said: "If you are prepared to wait to make your claim we recommend that you keep your tickets and any receipts.

Copies of claim forms are on www.chilternrailways.co.uk