diff --git a/lisp/shell.el b/lisp/shell.el
index 9905fde3712..fdf80cba220 100644
--- a/lisp/shell.el
+++ b/lisp/shell.el
@@ -202,6 +202,12 @@ This is used for directory tracking and does not do a perfect job."
   :type 'regexp
   :group 'shell)
 
+(defcustom shell-command-separator-regexp "[;&|\n \t]*"
+  "*Regexp to match a single command within a pipeline.
+This is used for directory tracking and does not do a perfect job."
+  :type 'regexp
+  :group 'shell)
+
 (defcustom shell-completion-execonly t
   "*If non-nil, use executable files only for completion candidates.
 This mirrors the optional behavior of tcsh.
@@ -608,7 +614,9 @@ Environment variables are expanded, see function `substitute-in-file-name'."
   (if shell-dirtrackp
       ;; We fail gracefully if we think the command will fail in the shell.
       (condition-case chdir-failure
-	  (let ((start (progn (string-match "^[; \t]*" str) ; skip whitespace
+	  (let ((start (progn (string-match
+			       (concat "^" shell-command-separator-regexp)
+			       str) ; skip whitespace
 			      (match-end 0)))
 		end cmd arg1)
 	    (while (string-match shell-command-regexp str start)
@@ -634,7 +642,9 @@ Environment variables are expanded, see function `substitute-in-file-name'."
 						"\\)\\($\\|[ \t]\\)")
 					cmd))
 		     (shell-process-cd (comint-substitute-in-file-name cmd))))
-	      (setq start (progn (string-match "[; \t]*" str end) ; skip again
+	      (setq start (progn (string-match shell-command-separator-regexp
+					       str end)
+				 ;; skip again
 				 (match-end 0)))))
 	(error "Couldn't cd"))))